Coming Home
by Renthead621
Summary: Resubmission of an old story. Roger returns home for his sisters wedding and reunites with his first love.
1. Chapter 1

It's been 2 years since Maureen and Joanne found Mimi in the park and Roger professed his love for her. He helped her get clean, but soon after, they broke up. It wasn't another fight, they just felt as if they were better off friends. Roger has received an invitation to his younger sister's wedding to her childhood sweetheart. It's been 9 years since he was home and he felt very anxious about it. The last time he was there, he broke his high school girlfriend's heart by leaving their shared apartment to go to the city and become a big rock star. He invited Mark to accompany him. He wanted Mark to see where he grew up. And he thought he'd need moral support with his friends and most of all with his former girlfriend. As he drove upstate, the butterflies filled his stomach more and more the closer he got. He played with the radio nervously, listening to 80's songs that played. They pulled into the Davis driveway shortly after 5. They got out of the car and grabbed their bags before opening the door to the Davis house.

"Hey mom, we're here." Roger called out as he and Mark walked into his childhood home.

"It took you boys long enough to get here. You left 6 hours ago." Mrs. Davis told them hugging Roger.

"Yeah well, Roger had to stop at every rest stop on the thruway to eat." Mark said laughing.

"Screw off Cohen. I was hungry. Who had to go to the bathroom every time we stopped?" he looked over at him.

"Well, I'm glad you're taking care of yourself. You look good." she said smiling at him.

"Thanks ma. Is Chrissy here?" he asked putting his bag down next to the couch.

"No, she went out with Sara to pick up her dress for tonight." she said as Roger sat on the couch.

"Sara? My Sara?" he asked quietly as she sat next to him.

"You're ex girlfriend Sara?" Mark asked standing over him.

"Um... yeah. That Sara." he said looking up at her.

"Yes Roger. She's your sisters maid of honor. They became very close after you left. You really broke her heart when you left." she said as tears filled up Roger's eyes.

"Yeah ma. I... I kind of figured, but how come no one told me she had such a hard time?" he asked looking at his mother.

"Roger, you were going through enough down there. We didn't hear from you for over a year and by that time you were dating April and then all the stuff happened. It was never the right time?" she asked touching his arm.

"Is she still mad at me?" Roger asked looking down.

"No Roger. She was never mad at you. She loves you. But you did hurt her Roger. You didn't even tell her you were leaving." she told him lifting his head up by his chin.

"She... loves me?" Roger asked looking at her semi hopeful.

"And you're surprised? Roger, you two are the loves of each other's lives. You didn't think she could fall out of love with you that easily, did you?" she asked smiling at him.

"It's been 9 years mom. She hasn't moved on?" he asked looking up at her.

"No Roger, she hasn't. When you left, she thought you'd be back for her." Mrs. Davis told him as he got up.

"So she's been waiting for me this whole time?" he asked getting off of the couch to pace the living room.

"Roger, she stayed because she loves you and wanted you to be able to find her when you came back. She never lost hope." Mrs. Davis told him watching him from the couch.

"Does she want to see me?" he asked looking at his mother.

"I don't know. We haven't told her that you're walking Christina down the aisle yet. Christina didn't want to upset her." she told him.

"I have to see her." he told her running his fingers through his hair.

"She'll be here in a little while." Mrs. Davis told him standing up.

"She's coming here? Now? I have to get cleaned up." he said grabbing his bag and running up the stairs taking them 2 at a time.

"I have never seen him so freaked out." Mark laughed picking up his bag.

"Yeah well, I have. Sara was his only girlfriend until he moved to the city and he's obviously still in love with her." Mrs. Davis said bringing him upstairs to the guest room.

"Mark, where are my razors?" Roger asked as they got upstairs.

"You put them in the front pocket of your bag." he said smiling at him.

"Oh yeah. Thanks." he said closing the door again to find the razors and quickly shave.

"If you've ever wanted to see what Roger was like in high school, you're seeing it now. Sara always had that effect on him." Mrs. Davis told him as he nodded smiling as they entered the guest room.

"Mark, my toothbrush." Roger yelled from his bedroom door.

"Same pocket Roger." Mark told him putting his bag down on the bed mildly amused.

"Right. Thanks." Roger said again retreating to his room.

"He is too funny." Mark said smiling at her.

"Mom, whose car is in the driveway?" Christina asked from the living room.

"The girls are here." Mrs. Davis said as she left he guest room and knocked on Roger's door. "They're here." she said quietly as she went down stairs. "Where's Sara?" Mrs. Davis asked looking around as Mark came down behind her.

"In the bathroom. Whose car is in the driveway?" she asked again taking her pocket book off of her shoulder.

"That's your brother's car. He's up in his room." she told her quietly as Christina's eyes widened.

"Roger's here? Does he know about Sara?" Christina asked quietly.

"Yeah, mom told me. Hey little sis." he said running down the stairs.

"Roger, hey you look great." Christina said as he picked her up.

"Thanks sis. You look amazing too. You're gonna be a married woman tomorrow, huh?" he asked putting her down.

"Yeah, well Kelly thought it was about time." she said smiling at how great her brother looked.

"Where's Sara?" he asked looking down at her.

"I'm right here Roger." she said quietly as tears filled her eyes.

"Sara, um... hi." he said just as quietly giving her a weak smile.

"Roger, what are you doing here?" she asked going over to Christina.

"Christina's wedding and to see you." he answered smiling down at her.

"Well you saw me. Now I have to go. Chrissy, I'll see you tonight." she said hugging Christina goodbye as she rushed out of the Davis home.

"Sara, wait." Roger asked rushing out of the house after her.

"For what? You? I have been, for almost 10 years Roger. I can't wait anymore. I have to get out of here." she said rushing towards her car.

"Sara, I'm sorry I left." he said chasing after to her.

"Roger, I have to go. I can't do this right now. I have to get ready for my best friends wedding rehearsal." she said getting in the car.

"But Sara, I need to talk to you." he said holding her door open.

"There's nothing to talk about Roger. You asked me to marry you and then you were left me. What is there to talk about that you couldn't have said to me back then?" she yelled beginning to cry.

"I'm sorry. I want to explain everything." he told he told her kneeling down next to the car.

"Explain what? How you left for the city to make it big and all you left me, the woman you claimed to love was, a note telling me how much you love me and when you get settled you'll come back for me? But that wasn't true, was it? You started dating down there like I didn't exist. Like what we had meant nothing." she yelled still crying.

"I do love you. Sara, I'm sorry. I had to get out before it was too late." he told her looking up at her wanting to reach out for her.

"So you left me behind rather than take me with you like we planned?" she asked looking over at him.

"I didn't know where I was going, it wouldn't have been fair to take you with me." he told her reaching out for her.

"No Roger, I'm not gonna fall into your arms like I did in high school. High school is over." she yelled at him getting out of the car pushing him out of her way.

"I don't expect you to. I know I screwed up and I have a lot to make up for." he said getting up following her to the porch.

"How are you gonna make up for April and Mimi?" she asked looking back at him.

"I can't. I know I can't." he told her as she sat on the porch crying again.

"So how do you expect to make it up to me?" she asked looking up at him.

"I want to move back here for you. To start over." he said sitting next to him.

"You want to move back? For me?" she asked looking up at him.

"Yeah, Sara, I'll do anything for you. To be with you again. Where I always belonged." he said reaching out to touch her face.

"I can't do this right now. I need to get out of here." she said getting up and rushing to her car before Roger stopped her again.

"Sara wait." he yelled as she pulled out of the driveway and he attempted to chase her.

"Roger, let her go." Christina said coming out of the house, where she, Mrs. Davis and Mark stayed to stay out of the cross fire.

"Where does she live Chrissy?" he asked going to the rental car.

"Roger, she needs time. You can't chase after her. Not this time." Christina told him..

"Damn it Chris, where? I need to go to her." he yelled sitting in the car.

"Roger, I think we should talk first. There's a lot you don't know." she said approaching the car.

"I have to get her back Chris." he said calmly sitting in the car.

"Come in the house. I'm gonna catch you up on everything you missed since you left." she said opening the door holding her hand out for him.


	2. Chapter 2

As they entered the house, Roger braced himself for what Christina was about to tell him. "What don't I know?" he asked sitting on the couch.

"Roger, she still loves you. Very much." she started as he interrupted her.

"I know. She's still wearing the ring I gave her." he said quietly as his sister sat next to him with her hands folded in her lap.

"Roger, when you left, she was devastated. You have no idea how devastated she was. She gave up the apartment you guys had and moved in here. She spent all of her time here in your room just crying for the first 6 months. She was really bad off, Rog. She found out she was pregnant 2 weeks after you left. She seemed to be getting better. She had your child to think about and wanted to have that piece of you. She left your room. She was eating again. She even looked for a job. She hoped you would come back and you guys could get married like you were supposed to." she told him looking up at her mother, whose eyes filled with tears before she turned away.

"A baby? Chrissy, where is..." he started as tears filled his own eyes.

"Roger, she lost the baby a month later. She was more depressed than ever. She felt like she let you down and lost you forever. That baby gave her hope and then to have it taken away from her like that. She couldn't handle it. She stayed in your room again. She stopped eating, sleeping, she just cried all of the time. She gave up. On everything." she told him holding back tears.

"Oh my God." he said getting up and pacing the living room crying.

"Roger, you are the only man she's ever wanted. The only one she's ever loved. We thought she was gonna hurt herself, but one morning mom and I woke up and she was gone. We thought she left to find you, but she was at her parents house. She re enrolled in school and got a job. She got out of the house, but didn't get on with her life. Sure she went to school and worked, but that's all she did. She never did anything else. Me, Heather, Erika, Dustin and Kelly tried getting her to hang out with us to take her mind off of you, but she always sent us away. Everything reminds her of you. So she went to school and work and stayed in her apartment all the time." Christina said wiping her eyes.

"Chrissy, where does she live? I have to see her. Be with her." he asked quietly as he wiped his own eyes.

"Roger, I don't think it's a good idea. I have been taking care of her since I was 15. I know her. I didn't tell her you were coming to the wedding because I didn't know how she would handle it and thought seeing you would snap her out of it somehow. I mean, you guys were the greatest couple I've ever known. I was hoping being in the same room with you would help her somehow." she said getting up.

"Why didn't you ever tell me any of this?" he asked looking down at her.

"When Roger? When would have been a good time? When you were with April shooting up, or how about after you found her in the bathroom, or when you were diagnosed with HIV and going through withdrawal, or when you were with Mimi and Angel was dying? Yeah, there were so many opportunities." she yelled at him turning away from him.

"Chrissy, I know, I'm sorry. I screwed up. I made a lot of mistakes that hurt a lot of people." he told her taking her arm.

"Yeah especially yourself. Roger, you and Sara belonged together and leaving her was the beginning of the end for you. You suffered just as much as she did. But instead of retreating into a deep depression, you got self destructive. Don't you think I want my brother and my best friend to get back together? I loved you two together. I missed seeing you two together." she told him smiling up at him.

"I'm sorry Chrissy. I'm sorry for everything. I know you and mom forgive me. Now I have to get Sara to forgive me so we can start over." he told her pulling her into an embrace.

"How? You live down there and she's up here?" Chrissy asked pulling away to look at her brother.

"If she'll have me, I'll move back up here for her. I'll do anything for her, Chris." he said smiling down at her as Mark and his mother looked on in shock.

"You're gonna move back home?" Christina asked looking up at him.

"If she'll take me back, yes. She's my purpose in life. She always was." he told him looking over at him.

"What about your music and everything you built down there for yourself?" Christina asked still surprised.

"None of it matters without Sara. It never did. I was just too stupid to realize it." he said smiling at his sister.

"Then you should go to her Roger." Mark said smiling at him.

"Where does she live Chris?" he asked looking down at her as she wiped the tears from her eyes.

"Above the video store in town. It's across from the Inn." she said smiling.

"Thanks sis." he said rushing out of the house.

"Think she'll forgive him?" Mark asked watching him pull out of the driveway.

"She always does. They're too much in love for her not to." Chrissy said beginning to cry as she watched her brother drove down the street towards Sara's apartment. When he arrived at her apartment, he ran up the outer stairs leading up to her door. But when he got to the door, he was nervous. How was he gonna make things right for all he did to her? He finally took a deep breath and knocked on the door. As he knocked, it began to open. He heard her crying so he looked around to find her.

"Sara." he called out gently as she continued to cry seeming not to hear him. "Sara." he said finding her in her room curled up on the floor by her closet with a cat laying next her. She was surrounded with pictures of them from high school and childhood. "Sara, Baby. I'm sorry." he whispered rushing to her.

"Roger, why? That's all I want to know. Why did you leave me?" she asked continuing to cry.

"I don't know Sara. I was 19 and stupid. I thought I could go and make something of myself. I wanted you to make you proud of me. You were always my life. I didn't mean to hurt you. I could never hurt you on purpose." he told her taking her in his arms.

"Roger, I loved you. I was always proud of you. We were gonna spend the rest of our lives together." she said holding on to the front of his shirt crying into it.

"I know Sara. I was stupid. I love you too. I always did." he whispered caressing her hair.

"Roger, did you mean what you said about moving back to be with me?" she asked looking up at him.

"Every word. I'll do anything for you Sara. You're the love of my life." he told her kissing her head.

"But what about your music, your friends?" she asked looking at him.

"Sara, I belong with you. I always have. I can play my music up here. And my friends will understand. They just want to see me happy." he told her as he wiped her tears from her face.

"I don't know if I can ask you to do that. Move back home for me." she said looking into his green eyes that were always kryptonite to her.

"You're not asking. I belong here with you." he told her leaning down to kiss her. The feel of his lips on hers made her cry again. It had been 9 years since she felt his lips on hers and she missed it.

"Roger, I have waited for this moment for 9 years. I played it and replayed it in my head. I didn't know what I would do. And now that you're here, it feels like you never left." she told him wiping her eyes.

"I know Sara. So much has happened since I left. I want to explain everything." he said looking down at her.

"Later. I don't think I can handle it right now." she said pulling him into an embrace.

"Chrissy told me everything." he told her as she pulled away.

"Did she tell you about...?" she started as he interrupted her.

"You losing the baby. Yeah she did. I'm so sorry I wasn't here for you. I... I should have been." he said caressing her cheek.

"No, I'm sorry Roger. I wanted to have your baby, I really did." she told him crying again as he held her to him.

"It's not your fault Boobie." he told her caressing her head.

"I missed you calling me that." she said with a weak smile.

"I missed you Sara." he said holding her close again.

"I love you so much Roger." she told him leaning up to kiss him again.

"I love you too Sara." he said kissing her deeper and more passionately.

"Now what?" she asked smiling at him.

"Marry me Sara. That is, if you still want to." he told her leaning his forehead into hers as he held her face in his hands.

"I still have my ring, don't I?" she said showing it to him.

"I saw that. You haven't taken it off in all this time?" he asked taking her left hand in his while looking into her blue eyes.

"I couldn't bring myself to. I tried but, it meant everything when you gave it me." she said looking down at it.

"So do you still want to marry me?" he asked caressing her cheek.

"Of course I do. Roger, I love you and I always have. You're the only one for me. Since we were 5." she said smiling at him.

"I remember the day we met." he said smiling back at her.

"Yeah, you pulled my hair and called me an icky girl." she said laughing.

"Well you were. I remember the blue dress you were wearing with those light blue shoes and your hair was in long pigtails." he told her laughing with her.

"And you had this cute little bowl haircut that hung down past your ears and a blue and red striped polo shirt with white sneakers and your Cookie Monster book bag." she said laughing running her fingers through his hair as she leaned into him as he sat back against the wall.

"I've loved you my whole life Sara." he said kissing her head as the phone rang.

"Roger, loving you has been my life." she told him reaching for the phone as the cat lay across Roger's lap. "Hello?... hi Chrissy... No, I'm fine. He's still here... we're talking...I'll tell you later. We'll be over in a little while... OK Love you too. Bye." she said hanging up the phone. "She was worried about me. We should go over there?" she said smiling at him with her cat.

"And who's this?" he asked petting the cat.

"That's Davis. Heather and Dustin got him for me. They thought me having something to take care of would help me." she said leaning over to pet the cat.

"And you named him Davis?" he asked smiling down at her.

"Yeah, well it was my way of having you with me. He knows everything about you." she said smiling at him.

"I love you Boobie." he told her caressing her face with his thumb.

"I love you too. Honey Bear." she said laughing as his mouth dropped.

"No one's called me that since you." he said laughing.

"Well they better not have. I made that up for you." she said kissing him before they got up.

"You're not gonna regret this Sara. I promise." he told her smiling at her.

"I know. I love you. How can I regret following my heart?" she told him as he wrapped his arms around her. "We should go to your house. Your mom and Chrissy are waiting." she told him leaning up to kiss him one more time before they left. They took Roger's rental car over.

"You have to meet Mark. He's my roommate down in the city." he told her smiling as they pulled into the driveway of Roger's mothers house.

"He must think I'm nuts the way I flipped out at the house." she said covering her face in embarrassment.

"He knows our history. He told me to go get you." he said leaning over to kiss her before they got out of the car.

"Sara, are you OK?" Christina asked running out of the house.

"I'm fine Chris." she said as Roger put his arms around her and they went into the house.

"Is everything OK?" Mrs. Davis asked rushing over to them as Mark sat on the couch drinking tea.

"Everything's fine Mrs. Davis. Really. I'm fine. Actually we're both fine." she said smiling up at Roger.

"Mark, I want you to meet Sara. Sara, this is Mark." Roger said introducing them as Mark got up to shake Sara's hand.

"It's nice to meet you Sara. Roger's told me a lot about you." Mark told her smiling at her.

"I'm sorry about the way I acted before. I'm not as nuts as I appear." she said laughing.

"That's OK. I understand." Mark said laughing a bit.

"Guys, Sara and I have some things we want to talk to you about." Roger said as Christina and Mrs. Davis smiled and Mark looked on.

"What's going on you two?" he asked sitting on the couch.

"Well, I'm moving back home and Sara and I are getting married." he announced as he and Sara beamed.

"Roger, that's great news." Mark told him happily. He knew Roger had been thinking of moving back home to be with Sara, and he knew how much it meant to him.

"Thanks Mark. I wasn't sure how you'd take it. But I love Sara and we want to be together. This is where I belong. With her." Roger said looking down at him.

"And you should be with her. I'm gonna miss you, but you have to do what you feel in your heart." Mark said smiling at him.

"Thanks for understanding Mark. I'm gonna bring the rental car back on Sunday and rent a moving van to bring my stuff up here." Roger told him as Mrs. Davis, Christina and Sara let them talk.

"That's a great idea Roger. I'm really happy for you." Mark said getting up to hug his best friend.

"Thanks man." he said smiling at Sara.

"Oh guys, this is so wonderful. We're gonna have another wedding." Christina said jumping up to hug Sara and Roger.

"I'm so happy. My little boy is moving back home and he's getting married." Mrs. Davis shouted in joy.

"So am I Mrs. Davis." Sara said smiling at her.

"Um guys, we should really start getting ready for _my _wedding rehearsal. We only have 2 hours." Christina said wiping the tears of joy from the corners of her eyes.

"Right. Um mom, I'm gonna grab my stuff and bring it to Sara's and get ready there." Roger said looking down at her.

"Roger, it's our place now." she told him smiling up at him.

"Sure sweetie. But don't be late. I remember how you two always were." Mrs. Davis said laughing.

"Mom, we were only 15 minutes late for yours and dad's 20th anniversary party." Roger said smiling down at her.

"It was a surprise party Roger. And you and Sara came in at the same time as mom and dad." Christina yelled at him as everyone laughed.

"Yeah well I apologized for that." he said kissing Sara's head. "I'm gonna grab my stuff OK Boobie?" he said smiling at her.

"Boobie? I haven't heard that in years." Christina said laughing.

"What's Boobie?" Mark asked confused.

"It's Roger's little pet name for Sara. He always called her that. It was nauseating." Christina told him laughing.

"And what was Sara's pet name for Roger?" he asked as Roger put his hand over his face.

"Honey Bear." Sara said laughing as she squeezed Roger's side.

"Honey bear? That's what Joanne calls Maureen." he said laughing.

"That must have been interesting." she said laughing as Roger leaned down to kiss her.

"Not as interesting as what Maureen calls Joanne." Roger laughed.

"What's that?" she asked, curious.

"Pookie." Roger and Mark told her in unison.

Sara rubbed Roger's arm, bringing his shirt up over his bicep. "You actually got it." she smiled looking up at him.

"Yeah, I did." he smiled looking over at his tattoo.

"I like it. It's better than the one you used to draw." she smiled caressing his arm with her delicate finger tips.

"What one he used to draw?" Mark asked curiously.

"When we were younger, Roger used to talk about getting this cool celtic tattoo. He used to use a marker to draw it on his arm whenever he used to perform." she explained looking over at him.

"Um... guy, my rehearsal, remember?" Christina said looking over at them.

"Right, sorry sis. I'm gonna go upstairs now and get my stuff so I can get changed at your place." he said laughing as he ran up the stairs.

"Sara, can I talk to you for a minute?" Mark said as they went into the kitchen.

"Sure Mark." she said looking at Mrs. Davis and Christina before following him.

"Listen, I'm really happy you and Roger are getting a second chance. But he has HIV and needs to make sure he takes care of himself and Roger's not great at taking care of himself. He needs supervision taking his meds and stuff." Mark started as Sara looked at him.

"Mark, I read everything I could get my hands on regarding HIV when I found out he was diagnosed. He needs to take his meds at a certain time everyday and he can't get sick and I know him. I love him and I lost him once I don't want to lose him again. I'll take really good care of him." she told him smiling.

"OK, I just wanted to make sure you knew what you were getting yourself into." he said smiling back at her.

"I appreciate that Mark. I have loved Roger my whole life. Literally. I would do anything for him." she said smiling up at him.

"I know. I'm really happy for you guys. I'm not looking forward to him moving out, but he deserves to be happy and he always said he was the happiest when he was with you." he said looking at her smiling.

"That was when we were both the happiest." she said smiling back at him.

"So, how did Roger propose to you in high school?" he asked smiling at her.

"Well he proposed to me for graduation. We were sitting on the beach with our friends just hanging out. Dustin and Heather were making out and me and Roger were on the lifeguard stand just talking and he looked down at me and asked 'Why don't we get married?' I looked up at him and asked him if he was serious and he pulled out a small box from his jeans pocket and it was a ring. He said he couldn't have been more serious. So of course I said yes and he put the ring on my finger." she said with tears filling her eyes showing him a small diamond ring on a thin gold band.

"That's beautiful Sara." he said as Roger came into the kitchen.

"Is everything OK in here?" he asked walking over to Sara and putting his arms around her.

"Mhm, everything's great. I was just telling Mark how you proposed to me graduation night." she said looking up at him.

"Oh yeah, on the lifeguard stand at the beach." he said holding her closer.

"I didn't know you were such a romantic Roger." Mark teased smiling at him.

"Yeah well, my girl always brought it out the best in me." he said kissing her head.

"We have to start getting ready for the rehearsal. Are you ready to go home?" she asked looking up at him.

"Yeah, I'm ready Boobie. Are you OK with staying at my moms alone Mark?" he asked caressing Sara's arm.

"I'm fine Roger. Don't worry about it." Mark told him smiling.

"Thanks Mark. I'll see you at the church." he said smiling at him before he and Sara left to go home.


	3. Chapter 3

"Roger, are you ready?" Sara called out grabbing her shall.

"Yeah, I'm ready Boobie." he said coming out still playing with his hair.

"Roger, your hair looks great. I love that you grew it out." she said fluffing it a bit.

"Yeah well, it's been doing that curly thing and I hate when it does that." he said laughing as he put his arms around her waist pulling her closer to him.

"Well I love it. We really should be getting going. Christina's gonna kill us if we're late." Sara said leaning up to kiss him.

"I love you Boobie." he whispered as he held her close.

"I love you too Honey Bear." she said laughing putting her arms around his neck to hold him.

"Your car or mine?" he asked as they broke their embrace and left the apartment.

"Whatever you want. As long as I'm with you, I don't care how we go." she said smiling as he led her to the rental car and opened her door.

"After you." he said smiling as she got in the car.

"Thank you." she said laughing as he closed the door and got in on his side.

"Finally. What took you guys so long?" Christina said running down the steps of the church to the car.

"Chrissy, we're 5 minutes early. Calm down." Sara said smiling at her.

"Sorry, I was just nervous you guys would be late. You know you guys are always late." she said as Dustin and Heather came running down the stairs.

"Hey Davis, I see they let you back in town." Dustin said hugging him.

"Hey Dustin, how you doing?" he said hugging his high school best friend.

"Pretty good. I hear you're moving back home for your girl?" Dustin said laughing.

"Yeah, you didn't think when I left it would be the end of the song, did you?" he asked holding Sara close to him.

"We all knew there was another verse. You guys always belonged together." Dustin said laughing as Heather looked at Sara disapprovingly.

"Come on, I want you to meet my best friend Mark." Roger said smiling as the guys went up the stairs. "Are you coming Boobie?" he asked looking back.

"I'll be in in a minute. I just want to talk to Heather." she said smiling at him.

"What's going on Sara? Are you looking to have your heart broken again by him?" Heather asked obviously unhappy.

"Heather, he finally came back for me. I'm happy, I thought you would be too." Sara told her defensively.

"Yeah, but after all he put you through. The baby, the other girls down there, the drugs? How could you forgive him so easily?" Heather asked putting her hands on her hips.

"It wasn't easy Heather. Trust me. But I love him Heather. And he loves me. He always has." Sara told her smiling.

"Does he know what he did to you?" she asked looking up at Roger who was laughing with Dustin, Mark and Kelly.

"Yes. He knows everything. He's moving home for me and we're getting married. Please be happy for me Heather." she said as Roger smiled down at her.

"He better not hurt you again, or he's gonna need medical attention." Heather said seeing how happy Sara was.

"He won't Heather. We belong together. You know that. We always did." Sara said as Christina came down the stairs.

"Did you sleep with him yet?" she asked as Sara looked at her surprised.

"If you must know, yes I did. I love him Heather. He's my life." she told her as Christina came down to them.

"Are you insane? What about his HIV?" Heather asked looking at her.

"We're careful. Do you think he wants to hurt me?" Sara asked looking at her.

"Too late for that." Heather muttered quietly.

"Is everything OK down here?" she asked looking at Sara.

"Yeah, fine. I'm just trying to find out what's going on in her head that would make her give your brother another chance." Heather told her angrily.

"Heather, you married the love of your life. I'm marrying mine and now it's Sara's turn. She's been waiting for Roger for a long time and yes, he's made mistakes that have hurt people. But I think we should be happy that they're finally getting their shot." Christina told her firmly.

"But Dustin didn't leave me and put me through everything he's put her through, how could she give in to him so easily?" Heather asked pointing up at Roger.

"Because I love him Heather. And he loves me. After all this time he still loves me and he's moving back home. For me. Why can't you see that I'm happy?" she asked as tears formed in her eyes.

"I see that you're happy now. But I've also seen how miserable you were the last 9 years when he left you." she said moving closer to her friend.

"I know but he came back. Not for me, but to me. He's giving up his life down there to be with me. That has to show you something." she said smiling at her.

"I just don't want him to hurt you again." Heather told her taking her hand.

"He won't." she answered smiling.

"I'm serious Sara. He hurts you again, I'm coming after him." Heather said quietly.

"He won't Heather. We're finally together again. Things are back to the way they're supposed to be." she said smiling at her.

"I'm happy for you sweetie. But just be careful, OK?" Heather said hugging her.

"I will." she said smiling at her.

"OK now can we go in? I need my maid of honor and my brides maid." Christina said smiling at them.

"Yeah Chris. Sorry for the drama." Heather said smiling as the women went upstairs.

"Isn't it great? Roger's moving back home and he and Sara are finally getting married." Christina said talking to Heather.

"Yeah, wonderful." she said less than enthusiastic.

"Is everything OK Boobie?" he asked looking down at her.

"Yeah, it's fine now." she said leaning up to kiss him.

"It's a good thing, Heather." Dustin told her putting his arm around her.

"We'll see." she said looking up at him.

"Hi Kelly." Sara said smiling as they went into the foyer of the church.

"Hey Sara. I see you finally got what you've been asking for Christmas every year." Kelly said smiling at her.

"Yeah, he finally came back to me." she said smiling at him.

"Um... hello, my wedding rehearsal remember, please." Christina said smiling at them.

"Sorry Chris. Let's go in." Sara said smiling up at Roger who was holding her tight in his arms.

"OK Roger, you need to let go of my maid of honor. She needs to walk down the aisle and you need to walk me down the aisle." Christina said smiling at them.

"I don't wanna." he said childishly holding Sara tighter who was laughing.

"Roger come on. You're moving in with her and marrying her. Let her go." Christina said manually removing Roger's arms out from around Sara.

"You are so mean." Roger said looking at Sara.

"Roger, stop acting like a baby." Christina said laughing.

"I love you Boobie." he said as Christina stood between them.

"I love you too Honey Bear." she said smiling at him.

"Oh good God. Sara turn around and get ready to walk down the aisle." Christina said laughing as Roger and Sara laughed at the same time. "You two are sick. I forgot how gross you guys used to be." Christina said standing next to Roger.

"I love her Christina. She is the love of my life. I live for her." Roger said watching Sara walk down the aisle before he and Christina readied themselves to follow.

"I know Roger. I'm glad you came home and I'm glad you're moving back to be with her. She lived for you her whole life. She didn't let a little thing like you leaving stand in her way." Christina said smiling up at him as they began walking toward Sara and Kelly.

"OK that should be good. Now everyone knows their part for tomorrow?" Mrs. Davis asked looking at Roger and Sara, Christina and Kelly and Dustin and Heather. All three couples were holding each other.

"Yes mom, we got it." Roger said smiling as he kissed Sara's head.

"Now we go eat and get drunk." Kelly said laughing as everyone filed out of the church.

"Mark, why don't you ride with me and Sara?" he asked smiling at his best friend.

"Are you guys sure? I can ride with your mom." Mark said smiling holding his camera.

"Come on Mark. Ride with me and Sara." Roger insisted as he put his free arm around Mark's neck playfully dragging him to the car.

"Thanks Rog for including me." Mark said smiling at him.

"Hey, you're my best friend. I'm sorry I ditched you today." Roger said as they all got into the car.

"What's up Roger?" Mark asked from the back seat.

"Mark, I want you to be my best man when I marry Sara." Roger said looking back at Mark.

"I would be honored Rog." he told him happily. He was sure Roger would want Dustin to be his best man. He had known Roger and Sara longer and was Roger's best friend in high school.

"Good. That means you're gonna have to come visit us here a lot." Roger said turning around and starting the car before driving to the rehearsal dinner.

"I'd like that a lot Rog." he smiled at his best friend and his fiance.

"So Mark, Roger tells me you're a documentary filmmaker. What kind of documentaries do you film?" Sara asked looking back at Mark.

"My last one was about the homeless and people with HIV. We viewed it last Christmas eve." he answered as Roger smiled back from the rear view mirror. That was 2 years ago. The night Maureen and Joanne found Mimi in the park close to death. After the film ended the ambulance finally showed up and Mimi was admitted to the hospital for 2 weeks. When she got out, she was more determined than ever to be clean and continue living. She came home to the loft and Roger nursed her through her withdrawal. They became very close. Their love for each other as lovers faded and they grew to depend on one another for friendship. They broke up once Mimi completed her withdrawal. It was mutual. She moved back into her apartment below and remained friends with all of the bohemians. She is the one who convinced Roger to do whatever he needed to win Sara back.

"A subject that was close to your heart. Good for you. I'd like to see it sometime." she said smiling. Roger had told her all about what happened with Mimi earlier in the day, so it would not be hard for her to see Roger with Mimi. She was actually looking forward to meeting Mimi. To thank her for helping her Love Nut find his way back home to her.

"Maybe when we go down to pick up Roger's stuff. And you can meet everyone." Mark said smiling at her uncomfortably.

"It's OK Mark. She knows everything about Mimi." Roger said smiling as he reached over to clutch Sara's hand.

"I'm glad." Mark said as they pulled in to the restaurant parking lot where the rehearsal dinner was taking place.

"I can't wait to meet her and thank her for sending him home to me." Sara said smiling over at Roger.

"Yeah, she's been a really good friend to me." Roger said smiling before they got out of the car.

"It's about time. I forgot how slow you drive." Dustin said jumping out of his pick up truck.

"Sorry, I had to talk to Mark." Roger told him as they got out of the car.

"So when's the wedding?" Dustin asked looking at them.

"We haven't talked about it, but I was hoping next month." Roger told him looking down at Sara.

"What, on our anniversary?" she asked smiling up at him.

"Yeah, why not?" he said holding her closer.

"Why so soon? Why don't you just be engaged for a while and see how you like living up here first." Heather said sarcastically.

"Heather, I like living up here just fine. Remember, I grew up here? I want to be with Sara and I don't want to waste any more time than I already have." he told her smiling down at Sara.

"That's a great idea Roger." Nick said smiling.

"OK so July 7th it is." Sara said smiling as they leaned in to kiss each other.

"We should go inside. Chrissy's on a tear today." Roger said laughing as he opened the door.

"That's because you're taking away from her thunder." Heather said a bit sarcastically as Roger looked down at her. He understood her unease at him being there and back with Sara.

"They're here. Great, can we eat now mom. I'm starving." Christina said as they came into the restaurant.

"Yes, now we can eat." Mrs. Davis said smiling at her.

"Calm down little sis. You're not gonna be able to fit into your dress tomorrow." Roger said as they sat down.

"Very funny Roger. What took you guys so long?" she said eating a piece of bread.

"I had to ask Mark to be my best man at my wedding next month." he said as Christina squealed with happiness.

"That's wonderful. You're getting married on the 7th?" she said getting up to hug them.

"I don't mean to take the spotlight." he whispered to her as they hugged.

"Don't worry Roger. I've been waiting a long time for this moment. I'm too happy to be mad." she told him smiling.

"I hope you know what you're doing Sara." Heather said to Sara as they hugged.

"I do Heather. Don't worry about me. I love him and want to be with him for the rest of our lives." she said smiling before turning to Roger to kiss him.

"We have to call Collins, Maureen and Joanne and tell them." Mark said happily filming everything.

"We'll do it later." Roger said smiling at him.

"So Roger you're moving back home, I hear." Mr. Thissell asked drinking his wine.

"Yes sir, Mr. Thissell. I want to be with my girl." he told him smiling.

"I have to call my parents. They don't know anything yet." Sara said looking up at Roger.

"Why don't you go behind the bar? I'm sure John won't mind." Mrs. Davis said pointing to the bar.

"Good idea. Roger, come with me. I'm sure dad is gonna want to talk to you ." she said smiling.

"You mean yell at me." he said holding her in his arms.

"No, talk to you. He always liked you. When you left he kept telling me you must have had a good explanation for doing it because he knew how much you loved me and would never want to hurt me." she said smiling up at him.

"Really? He said that?" Roger asked surprised.

"Yeah, he always knew you'd come back. Almost as much as I did." she said looking up at him dialing the phone.

"I'm sorry Boobie." he said caressing her face.

"It's OK. I'm fine now." she said smiling up at him. "Hey mom, it's Sara... No we're at Black Mountain, listen I have something I want to tell you... No everything's fine with Chrissy and Kelly. Mom, Roger came home... Yeah, he's here for good... Mom, he's moving in with me and we're getting married next month... yeah on the 7th... I know mom, I love you too... Yeah let me talk to him... hi daddy... I know, you were right... of course he's right here. Did you expect him to be anywhere else... OK here he is." she told him smiling up handing him the phone.

"Hi Mr. Drake... thanks, I'm glad to be home... well if it's still OK with you, yes I still want to marry her, if... if that's still OK with you... thank you sir... OK we'll see you tomorrow at the wedding... OK thank you sir. Bye." he said hanging up the phone.

"See, not so bad." she said leaning up to kiss him.

"I knew I always like your dad." Roger told her laughing as he swept her into his arms and kissed her again.

"Are you guys coming back to the table or are you the only people in the room again?" Mrs. Davis asked smiling as she went over to her son and his fiance.

"We're coming mom. Sorry." Roger said laughing as he let go of Sara and they began to the table.

"Oh my God Boobie, it's our song." Roger said as they juke box began to play When I Look Into Your Eyes by Firehouse.

"So it is. Do you wanna dance?" she asked looking up at him.

"I would love to." he told her smiling.

"There they go. I knew this would do it." Christina said smiling as Kelly held her tight.

"You played this?" Heather asked looking at her.

"Yes I did. It's their song. I wanted to see them dance together like they used to. Don't they look great out there?" she asked smiling at them.

"Yeah, you would think it was 1988 again." Dustin said smiling as he took his wife's hand.

"Well it's not, and it hasn't been for a very long time." Heather said looking up at her.

"Heather stop. You'll have plenty of time to lay into him. Right now can she please enjoy this?" Dustin whispered to her as she watched Roger and Sara on the dance floor.

"I'm not letting him off as easily as the rest of you are." she told him as Sara looked up at Roger and kissed him.

"Heather, do you really wanna make your best friend unhappy because she finally got what she's been wanting for 9 years? You do that. But can you not do this now? It's Christina and Kelly's rehearsal dinner and they're getting married tomorrow. Can it wait until after the wedding?" he asked as the song ended and Roger and Sara returned to the table.

"Fine Dustin." she said unhappily.

"You guys looked great out there." Christina said wiping a tear from her eye.

"Thanks. It felt like he never left." Sara said smiling at her as they sat down.

"Yeah it did." he said leaning down to kiss her.

"I need to get some air." Heather said taking her purse as she went outside.

"What is her problem?" Kelly asked looking at Nick.

"I think I know." Roger said getting up.

"Where are you going?" Sara asked looking up at him.

"I have to talk to her." Roger said kissing her head. "I'll be right back." he said going outside.

"What do you want?" she asked seeing him outside.

"I think we need to talk." he told her sitting on the bench next to her.

"You can't charm me the way you charmed everyone else into forgiving you like nothing happened." she said taking a cigarette out of her pocket book.

"I'm not trying to charm you. I am sorry for everything that happened." he told her taking a cigarette from her pack.

"Don't you think it's a little late for I'm sorry. I mean you left her and started a life of your own down there. Complete with sex, drugs and rock and roll with a topping of HIV." she said taking a drag off of her cigarette.

"Heather, I know I screwed up. Really bad. But I want to make things right and be where I belong. With Sara." he told her smoking his own cigarette.

"Yeah, nice words from the song writer, but this isn't a song Roger. This is Sara's life. You'll have to do a lot more than make promises to show that you're serious." she said getting up to walk away from him.

"Why are you giving me such a hard time?" he asked looking up at her.

"Because I seem to be the only real friend she has. Everyone else is falling all over you. Like the prodigal son has come home. They forgot what you did to her when you left. I didn't. She was broken and we all stuck around to make sure she got over it, but she never did. She's been broken all these years waiting for you to come home to her." she told him tossing her cigarette angrily on the ground.

"Heather, I love her. I always did. I need her. She's all that matters to me. All that ever mattered to me." he told her still smoking his cigarette.

"And you're dying and you don't want to die alone." she pointed out folding her arms.

"I'm HIV positive yes, but I'm not dying. At least not yet. Heather, it's not that I don't want to be alone, I just don't want to be without her anymore." he told her getting up from the bench.

"Yeah, well I'm not completely convinced." she said looking up at him.

"You will be. I've been in love with her my whole life. I'm moving back home and marrying her." he told her quietly.

"And what about your music? Roger, you left her because you said you couldn't make it big living up here." she asked looking up at him.

"Making it big isn't all it's cracked up to be. I don't want that anymore. I'll still play my music, but I'm just gonna play bars and restaurants and stuff. I need her. I always did." he told her smiling down at her.

"Well we'll see how happy you really are being stuck up here again." she told him with contempt in her voice.

"As long as I'm with Sara, I'm happy Heather." he said looking at her.

"I'll get off of your case for now, but you're on probation with me." she said looking up into his eyes.

"That's all I ask. For Sara. Just be happy for her." he said smiling down at her.

"I only ever wanted what was best for her Roger. She's my best friend." she looked over at him. "Um... we should go in. I'm gonna catch hell from my husband for storming out." she said semi smiling.

"Congratulations on that. I'm happy for you and Dustin." he said smiling at her as he opened the door.

"Thanks." she said going in as Sara ran over to them.

"What happened you two?" she asked looking at Heather.

"Nothing Boobie. We just needed to talk some things out. Everything is cool, right Heath?" he asked smiling down at her.

"Yeah, everything is fine. I'm sorry for leaving." she said smiling up at him and then sitting back next to Dustin.

"Everything OK Baby?" he asked looking at her.

"Yeah, I'm sorry." she said leaning in to kiss him.


	4. Chapter 4

"What time do we have to be at my moms to start getting ready for Chrissy's wedding?" Roger asked as they entered the apartment.

"Can we not talk about your mother right now?" she said wrapping her arms around his neck and pulling him into a deep kiss.

"If you insist." he said kissing her as he picked her up and carried her to the bed and began to make love to her.

"I love you Roger." she said laying in his arms.

"I love you too Sara. I am so happy to be here with you again." he said kissing her head.

"I used to think about when we were together again. I kept everything you ever gave me and put your pictures all around the apartment. Looking at you made me remember that I was loved." she said propping her chin on his chest.

"When I was going through withdrawal, I took out some of my old pictures of you and I used to think about what my life would have been like if I asked you to come with me. It's what got me through. I wanted to come back then, but I was just diagnosed with HIV and didn't want to bring that crap to you. You were the only pure thing in my life. The last thing I wanted was to drag you into this." Roger told her caressing her face.

"Roger you know I love you. I would do anything for you. You were always my life." she told him leaning up to kiss him.

"I know. And you were always mine." he said kissing her back.

"Roger, tell me about everyone." she told him laying back on his chest.

"Well, you already know about Mimi. Collins is really cool. He's like everyone's big brother. Which I needed more often than I realized. He's a teacher at a high school for kids with alternative lifestyles. Maureen is a pain in the ass. She was Mark's ex girlfriend, but she dumped him for a chic. Joanne, who's a lawyer. She's great. She's the level headed one out of all of us. She's who loaned me the money to rent the car and the tux and bought me a new suit. She hates me wearing denim all the time, but it's me." he said looking down at her as she played with his chest hair.

"And what about Angel?" she asked looking up at him.

"Angel was Collins boyfriend. He was amazing. He brought life into our family. He was great. I remember when I first met him. He was dressed in this Mrs. Claus thing and started singing and dancing around the loft. He tried to get me out of the house, but I was too stubborn then. Mimi's actually the one who got me thinking about leaving the loft and start living." he said smiling down at her.

"You're gonna miss everyone, aren't you?" she asked sitting up.

"Don't even think about it Boobie. I'm moving back here. I want to be with you up here. Not down there." he said sitting up as well.

"But Roger, I could use a change of scenery. And anyway your life is down there. Your friends and your music." she told him smiling at him.

"Sara, I love you for wanting to do that, but I want to move back up here. I want to be here with you. I missed it up here. Maybe I'll get back into skiing." he said leaning in to kiss her.

"Are you sure? Because I'll go. I just want to be with you. It doesn't matter where we are." she told him holding his hands.

"I know, but I don't think it's fair for you to sacrifice the life you built up here. I'm happy to be home." he told her taking her in his arms and laying down with her.

"OK. I just wanted to make sure." she said kissing him before laying on his chest. "I love you Roger." she said leaning up to kiss him.

"I love you too Sara. Good night." he said as they fell asleep in each other's arms.

"ROGER, WAIT! DON'T." she shouted waking Roger out of his sleep.

"Sara, wake up. I'm here." he said gently as he caressed her face.

"What... what happened? What's the matter?" she asked waking from her sleep.

"You yelled for me to wait. I'm right here Boobie." he told her caressing her hair.

"I'm sorry, I... I must have had a nightmare. I don't remember much. I mean, I remember being here with you and then all of a sudden you were walking away and I was calling out to you but you didn't answer." she told him wiping her eyes that were filling with tears.

"Boobie, I'm right here. I'm not going away again. I promise." he said taking her into his arms.

"I know. I guess a part of me is still scared of you leaving me again. I'll be OK." she said laying back in his arms.

"I know and that's my fault. I'm so sorry. I'll do what ever I can to make you feel secure that I'm not going anywhere." he told her caressing her head.

"I'm sorry Roger." she said holding him tight.

"It's not your fault Sara. It's mine. I'm never gonna do that to you again." he said kissing her head.

"I know. We should be getting back to sleep. We have to be at your moms at 11." she said looking up at him.

"Or we could stay up and do something fun." he suggested kissing her.

"Well that's an idea. I remember what a bear you were in the morning." she said laughing as she nuzzled his neck.

"Me? I'm not the one who bit Chrissy's head off for playing her radio too loud the morning after the prom." he said laughing.

"Well she was playing New Kids on the Block. Everyone knows that's not how I like to be woken up." she said kissing him deep.

"Me neither." he said laughing as they began to make love again.

"We should be getting ready to go Honey Bear." she said smiling up at him trying to get out of bed.

"Do I have to? This is probably the most comfortable bed I've been in in a long time." he told her holding her tight.

"I'm sorry, but yes. I have to get to your moms to help Chrissy get ready." she said leaning up to kiss him before getting out of bed.

"Oh come on back to bed, Boobie." he called out as she stood before him naked.

"If I do that, then we can't see if we can still do something else in the shower." she told him seductively as she grabbed a condom.

"Oh, you always did know how to get me out of bed." he said jumping out of the bed and following her to the bathroom.

"Well Roger, you have to remember, I'm the one you discovered that with." she said laughing.

"Yes you are." he told her laughing as they started the water and climbed into the shower.

"Let's see if you remember any of what we learned." she said wrapping her arms around his neck to pull him into a kiss.

"It's been quite a while, but I'll try not to disappoint you." he said kissing her more passionately.

"You can never disappoint me." she said holding him close and they began to make love again this time in their shower.

"Now that we got that out of our system, we really have to be getting ready." he told her laughing as they stood under the hot water.

"Why don't you let me get ready first? I have all this hair to dry." she said laughing motioned towards her hair.

"Why didn't you ever cut it?" he asked as she began to wash her hair.

"Because you always liked my long hair. I remember how you could spend hours playing with it." she said smiling at him.

"Well I do, but whatever makes you happy, I'll be fine with." he said helping her wash her hair.

"I've grown to like it myself. Plus your hair is getting long too. I like it that way." she told him rinsing her hair.

"I was thinking of cutting it." he said as she looked at him.

"Not the punk look again?" she begged looking up at him.

"No. Oh God no. I'm 28. I'm too old to bleach my hair again. I was just thinking of cutting it a little shorter. Nothing drastic." he told her helping her clean her body.

"OK. Because you know I love you for you, but I wasn't crazy about the whole punk look." she told him laughing.

"I thought you liked it. Sex Pistols were your favorite band." he told her as she rinsed her body off.

"I know. But I like your hair better now." she said smiling at him.

"OK Boobie. I'll leave it." he said leaning down to kiss her before she got out of the shower.

"I love you Honey Bear" she said smiling at him.

"I love you too Boobie." he said as she exited the bathroom wrapped in a towel.

"Roger, do you have your guitar?" Sara asked as she towel dried her hair.

"Yeah, it's in the trunk of the car. Why?" he asked turning the shower off and wrapping himself in a towel before stepping out.

"Just wondering. I miss you playing for me. That's all." she said smiling at him.

"And I miss playing for you. Maybe after the wedding we could sneak into the Ski Bowl and I'll play for you." he said kissing her neck as he walked past her.

"You don't have to go that far. We have our own place. You can play for me here." she said smiling at him as she brushed her hair.

"I want to. I missed playing our song for you there." he said slipping into his boxers.

"Or maybe we can all go out to J&J's and you guys can climb on stage again. Nicky and Kelly still play sometimes." she said sticking her head out of the bathroom laughing.

"That's an idea." he said smiling at her as he slipped into a clean pair of jeans.

"OK then. That's what we'll do." she said smiling as she began to blow dry her hair.

"Boobie, we gotta go. Chris is gonna kill us." Roger called in as Sara turned off the blow drier.

"OK Honey Bear. I'll be there in a second." she said running the brush through her long hair again before leaving the bathroom.

"You look gorgeous. Now we have to go." he told her smiling at her.

"You don't look too bad yourself." she said wrapping her arms around his neck as he leaned down to kiss her.

"I put your dress in the car already. Let's go." he said hugging her before they left the apartment.

"Thank you." she said smiling at him.

"Anything for my girl." he said smiling as they got in the car.

"They live." Christina called out laughing as she, Mark and Mrs. Davis drank coffee in the living room.

"Very funny." Roger said holding his tux and Sara's dress in one arm and Sara in the other.

"We didn't expect you guys so early." Mark said laughing.

"It's 10 after 11. We figured we'd get bitched at for being late." Roger said hanging the hangers of the coat rack.

"Yeah, about that. We didn't need you guys until 11:30. We knew you two would be late." Mrs. Davis told them as they all laughed.

"Oh you all think you're so funny, don't you?" Roger said as Sara laughed into his chest.

"They kind of are, Honey Bear." she said holding the front of his t-shirt.

"OK fine. Where's the coffee, mom?" Roger asked walking into the kitchen.

"Didn't you have coffee at your place?" Mark asked from the couch.

"Shut up Cohen." Roger said as Mark laughed following him.

"What?" Mark said looking at him.

"Nothing. Sara and I were just up early." Roger said walking to the counter.

"Is everything OK?" Mark asked holding his coffee mug.

"Yeah, Sara just had a nightmare that I was gonna leave her again. I'm gonna have to do a lot to reassure her that I'm here to stay." he said looking over at him.

"Well Rog, it's only natural. She has been waiting for you for 9 years." Mark told him sympathetically.

"She volunteered to come down and live with us in the city." he told him looking down.

"And?" Mark asked leaning on the counter.

"I told her no. I want to move back here Mark." Roger told him reaching for the coffee.

"But if she wants to..." Mark started before being cut off.

"No Mark. She put her life on hold because of me for 9 years. I don't want her to have to sacrifice everything she built up here for herself just to follow me." he told him grabbing 2 coffee mugs from the cabinet.

"So is it as great as it was in high school?" he asked sitting at the breakfast bar.

"Better. I mean, Mark, I have never been happier. Remind me to do something really great for Mimi when we get down there to pick up my stuff." she said pouring 2 cups of coffee.

"Will do." he said smiling at him.

"So how did you sleep?" Roger asked making his and Sara's coffee.

"Great. Probably better than I had in a long time." he answered smiling.

"Yeah, you should get a new bed. Ours suck." Roger said laughing as Sara came in.

"Is the coffee ready?" she asked smiling at them.

"Yeah Boobie. I made yours." Roger told her handing her her mug.

"Thank you Honey Bear." she said laughing as she took her mug.

"Sara, we have to start getting ready." Christina said coming into the kitchen.

"Sorry Chris. Gotta go Honey Bear. Maid of honor duty calls." she said leaning up to kiss Roger and smiling at Mark before following Christina up the stairs.

"Roger, do you have to take a shower?" Mrs. Davis asked coming into the kitchen.

"Why, doesn't my hair look OK?" he said running his fingers through his hair looking in the microwave.

"Yes Roger, your hair looks fine. I was just asking. Geez, I liked it better when it was shorter. You are so high maintenance now. How Sara's gonna be able to put up with you, I don't know." Mrs. Davis told him laughing.

"I'm not that bad mom." he said smiling at her.

"Yes you are Roger." Mark said as he and Mrs. Davis laughed.

"Very funny, you two. You two are having fun picking on me, aren't you?" Roger said picking up his coffee mug.

"Yeah, you can say that." Mark said as Roger playfully punched him.

"I have to start getting ready." Mrs. Davis said laughing before leaning up to kiss her son on the cheek. "Roger Matthew, I'm so happy to have you home." she said smiling at him.

"Me too mom." he said hugging her before she went upstairs.

"So, did you talk to Maureen, Joanne, Collins and Mimi yet?" Mark asked drinking his coffee.

"I called them last night when me and Sara got home." he told him finishing his coffee and putting the mug in the sink.

"And?" Mark asked curiously.

"Mimi was so happy, she screamed into the phone and just had to talk to Sara. They were on the phone for almost an hour." Roger said laughing.

"And what about the others?" Mark asked looking up at him.

"They were happy too. You know them. Everyone talked to Sara and they all liked her." Roger said smiling at him leaning on the counter.

"Why wouldn't they? Sara's great. And I love how you are when you're with her." Mark told him smiling.

"I love being with her. Mark, I missed her so much. I just don't ever want to leave her again, you know?" Roger said quietly as he leaned closer to Mark.

"Why would you leave her again, Rog?" Mark asked looking at him.

"My disease, remember?" he asked standing up straight.

"Roger, everything's gonna be fine. You're healthy now and as long as you keep taking care of yourself, you will be for a while." Mark said looking up at him.

"I know, I just want to be around and with Sara for longer than I have. No matter how long that is." Roger said as Sara appeared in the doorway.

"Roger. I love you, right?" she asked looking up at him.

"Yeah, I know Boobie and I love you." he said going over to her.

"So stop worrying so much. We have as long as we have. I know this time when you leave me, it will be out of your control." she said quietly as tears formed in her eyes.

"I just wasted so much time Boobie." he told her taking her in his arms.

"Don't worry about that now. We love each other more than anything in the world and we're here now." she said holding him tighter.

"I know. I'm sorry Boobie." he said kissing her head.

"That's OK Honey Bear. Just stop worrying about everything. Everything's working out for us now." she said looking up at him.

"Sara, where are you?" Christina yelled from upstairs.

"I better go, I just came down for my dress." she said leaning up to kiss him before going back into the living room for her dress.

"I love you Sara." he said smiling at her from the doorway.

"I love you too Roger." she said smiling as she ran up the stairs.

"Are you gonna stop worrying now?" Mark asked smiling at him.

"Yeah, I am. Sorry." Roger said smiling back at him.

"She's a good woman Rog. She loves you for the real you. Not the brooding rock star you were in the city." Mark said looking at him.

"She helped me find out who the real me was. I was such a jerk in school. The remember the day I asked her out, it was at the Fourth of July fireworks at the Ski Bowl when I was 14 and, I don't know. My life just seemed to make sense. We were best friends all through school, but asking her out changed me. I looked at her one day and just had to ask her out. Lucky for me she said yes." he told him smiling remembering the day he asked her out.

"That's cool Rog. I know I've never seen you happier." Mark said getting up from the stool.

"I've never been happier than I was with her." Roger said smiling at him.

"Come on, we better start getting ready. We don't want your sister to be late for her own wedding." Mark said smiling up at him as they went upstairs.

"Thanks Mark. For everything. You're a really good friend." Roger said looking back at him.

"No problem Rog. You're my best friend. I'd do anything for you." Mark said as Roger went into his room and Mark went into the guest room to get dressed.

"Mark, is Roger OK?" Sara asked standing in the hallway outside Christina's bedroom door hearing Roger go into his room.

"Yeah, he's fine. He just gets hit with a lot of regret about the mistakes he's made in his life and he just needs to get it out." Mark said quietly as he approached Sara.

"Thank you Mark. I can see what a good friend you are to him. I know how hard this is for you and I'm sorry he's leaving you to move back with me." Sara said with tears in her eyes as he reached out to hug her.

"He's my best friend Sara. He loves you and you love him. As long as you make him happy, I'm happy for you two." Mark said looking down at her.

"I do love him Mark. You can't imagine how much I love him." Sara said pulling away to look into Mark's blue eyes.

"I'm beginning to get a really good picture." he said smiling at her before kissing her forehead.

"Thanks Mark." she said smiling before going back into Christina's room. He couldn't believe Roger was actually going to leave the city to stay up there to be with Sara. He's never known Roger to want to leave the city to move back home, but that just proved how much Roger really loved Sara. Roger deserved someone who loved him for who he really was. Not just the image he projected when he performed and Sara did. She loved him for the person he was before he came to the East Village. He needed that. Some one to bring out who he used to be. Prior to the drugs and the HIV.

"Roger Matthew, are you ready yet?" Mrs. Davis asked knocking on Roger's bedroom door.

"Yeah, kind of. I can't get this damn thing tied. Now I remember why I wanted to wear jeans and a t-shirt to my wedding." Roger said opening the door struggling with his bow tie.

"Roger Matthew Davis, you are not wearing jeans and a t-shirt to your wedding. You will wear a tuxedo like the gentleman I raised you to be." Mrs. Davis scolded as she helped her son with his tie.

"Can you stop using my middle name please? I'm not 12. And you're freaking Mark out." Roger said trying to loosen the bow tie his mother just tied.

"Well stop acting like a 12 year old and I'll stop yelling at you like one. You are doing this for your sister and when you get married, you will be doing it for Sara. Just like when you went to the prom. Now stop fussing with it and let me see how you look." she said slapping his hand away from his tie as she stepped back.

"What will he be doing for Sara?" Sara asked coming out of Christina's room wearing her baby blue maid of honor dress.

"Boobie, you look beautiful." Roger said to his girlfriend forgetting the question.

"Thank you Baby. You don't look too bad yourself. I always loved the way you looked in a tuxedo. Now what will you be doing for me?" she said going over to kiss him.

"Wearing a tuxedo at our wedding." he told her leaning down to kiss her again.

"Damn right you are." she said smiling up at him.

"I know. But you always said I didn't have to wear one of these." he said still struggling with is tie.

"I was 19, Roger. I just wanted to get married in town hall. Now I want the whole town to be at our wedding. So they see I wasn't crazy all these years for waiting for you." she said fixing his tie to perfection.

"You are definitely crazy, but I love you anyway." he said leaning down to kiss her.

"Really? You two are at it again? What am I gonna do with you two. We have to go. I don't want to leave Kelly waiting." Christina said coming out of her room.

"Oh Chris, you look beautiful." Roger said seeing his sister in her wedding dress for the first time. "Dad would be really proud of you." 

"Really?" she said looking down at herself.

"Yeah, really. Kelly is a very lucky man." Roger said walking to her to kiss her head.

"Thank you Roger. OK can we go?" Christina said playing with her veil.

"Mark are you ready?" Roger called out from the hallway.

"Yeah, I'm ready. I just had to grab some extra reels of film. I have a feeling I'm not gonna want to miss a minute of this wedding." he said putting his bag on his shoulder. "You look great Chrissy." he said smiling at her.

"Thanks Mark. We should be getting going." she said as they went downstairs to leave the house.

"Good idea. We don't want to keep your groom waiting." Mrs. Davis said observing her children being happy. She was just sad her husband couldn't be there to see it. He worried about Roger so much. He died when Roger was 17 and worried that Roger would never find his way. He always knew Roger and Sara would wind up together. They had been best friends since kindergarten and just knew Roger would marry her one day. It's had been a bumpy road for him. For both of the kids, but their lives were finally coming together. Christina was about to marry her best friends and in a month so would Roger. She was proud of both of her kids and knew he would be too.


	5. Chapter 5

"We thought you guys would never get here." Dustin said running down the stairs as the cars pulled up.

"Am I late?" Christina asked in a panic as she jumped out of her mother's car.

"Sweetie, it's your wedding. They can't start without you." Heather said laughing as she helped her out of the car.

"Right." she said laughing along.

"Sorry, we were just having a family moment." Roger said as he and Sara approached the church.

"OK well we have to get you inside. Kelly's about to pass out thinking you left him at the alter." Dustin said leading her up the steps of the church.

"Good luck Chris. I'm gonna go and get a good spot to film from." Mark said smiling at her.

"OK Mark. Thanks." she said smiling at him as he went inside.

"Come on Mrs. D. You're with me." Dustin said as she took his arm.

"I love you my sweet little Christina Marie." she said kissing her daughter one last time before Dustin led her to her seat in the church and took his place next to his younger brother.

"Are you sure you really want to do this? We can still go to Cancun if you want. It's not too late." Roger said leaning down to his sister.

"Roger, I have never been more sure. But thanks big brother. I love you." she said laughing with Heather and Sara.

"I love you too. Now let's do this." he said smiling as she leaned up to kiss his cheek and hug him.

"OK, let's go." Heather said as she began to walk down the aisle alone.

"I love you Honey Bear." Sara said turning to Roger.

"I love you too Boobie." he said smiling at her as she began down the aisle.

"I am so happy for you two, you know that right?" Christina asked looking up at Roger.

"Yeah I know sis." he told her reassuringly.

"You two deserve to be happy." she said smiling at him.

"So do you and Kelly. Thanks for everything sis. Thanks for taking care of her all these years. You're the best." he said as the music played giving them their cue.

"Don't mention it. Just make my best friend happy and we're even." she told him smiling as they began to walk down the aisle. As Kelly and Christina said their vows, Roger and Sara stared at each other smiling. They would be doing that in a month and couldn't wait. Roger could help think that they could have been married already if it wasn't for his own stupidity. But he promised Sara he wouldn't think about that anymore. He would only look towards the here and now.

"I now pronounce you husband and wife. You may kiss your bride." the priest said smiling at them as Kelly and Christina kissed.

"Now we party." Dustin called out as everyone laughed and began to file out of the church.

"Yessss." Roger said standing up as Sara come to him.

"I love you." she said looking up at him.

"I love you too." he said smiling at her before kissing her.

"Come on you two. We have a wedding reception to get to." Mrs. Davis said smiling at her son and his fiance.

"And I have dirt to get on you." Mark said holding his camera smiling at them.

"You'll get your fill tonight Mark. And if I know this bunch, they'll end up at J&J's before the end of the night and that's where all the fun will begin." Mrs. Davis said laughing.

"You know it mom." Roger said laughing as Mr.& Mrs. Drake approached them.

"Sara, you look so beautiful." Mrs. Drake said hugging her daughter.

"Thanks daddy." she smiled at her father.

"Roger, it's nice to see you again." Mr. Drake said hugging Roger.

"Thank you sir. I'm sorry for everything that's happened these past 9 years." he said looking over at him.

"I know. Don't worry about it. Sara's happy now and we can go from here." Mrs. Drake said hugging him.

"Thank you. Really. Thank you." Roger said hugging the slight woman.

"Roger, you were always Sara's best friend and her only true love. We always knew that. You two never did very well when you were apart." she told him patting him on the back.

"You look great Roger. Really." Mr. Drake said smiling at his daughters fiance.

"Doesn't he daddy?" Sara said with Roger's arm around her.

"Yes he does." he told her smiling at how happy his daughter was.

"Hey, you guys coming? We have pictures outside." Heather said coming back into the church for them.

"Oh sorry. Our fault. Go ahead. We can catch up at the reception." Mrs. Drake said smiling at them as they left the church.

"OK mom." Sara said as she and Roger left the church for pictures. Everyone huddled together for a group picture. There were pictures of Christina with Sara and Heather and one with Roger and Christina. And of course plenty with Roger and Sara. They were ecstatic in every one. The reception was at the Inn where Sara was the hotel manager. It was her gift to them. She gave them their reception.

"This is beautiful Boobie." Roger said smiling at her as they walked into the hotel.

"Thank you. I came up with the theme and everything. All I did was tell them what Chrissy and I had in mind and they did it. They're amazing." Sara told her smiling.

"You manage this place?" Roger asked smiling looking around.

"Yeah, it took a few years. But I worked myself up to it." she said looking around.

"I am so proud of you. How could you think of leaving here after all you worked for?" he asked looking down at her.

"I don't know. Change of scenery." she said smiling up at him.

"I definitely can't let you give this up." he said looking around in awe.

"Roger, it was just something to do until you got home. I mean, it's long hours and a lot of dedication. It took my mind off of you for a while. I don't want to do the whole thing myself anymore. I'm gonna have to hire an assistant. Which they have been nagging me about doing for 2 years now. I'm gonna get right on that on Monday. I want to spend time with you now." she told him looking up at him.

"So that's what you'll do. I have nothing down there but my friends and my music. But I have friends up here and I can play my music up here. Plus our family is up here. It'll be great Boobie. I promise." he told her kissing her head.

"OK. We'll do that." she said leaning up to kiss him.

"Come on. Let's get this party started." he said smiling down at her as they went inside.

"I agree." she said smiling at him as they went into the main ballroom. The wedding reception was beautiful. Everyone had fun. Roger and Sara had the greatest time of their lives."Listen guys. Roger and I wanted to go to J&J's after this. You know, to hang out like old times." Sara said sitting on Roger's lap.

"That's a great idea. Let me and Kelly go get changed and we'll meet you there." Christina said smiling at them excitedly.

"Cool. Roger and I are gonna go home and get changed too. Mark, you're coming, right?" Sara asked smiling at him.

"Yeah, of course. I'm game. I have to go to your moms to pick up more film though." Mark said laughing.

"More film. How much did you buy?" Roger asked laughing.

"I bought 10 reels, Joanne and Maureen bought me another 10 and Collins bought me 5." Mark said laughing as Roger's mouth dropped.

"You're kidding. Why so much?" Roger asked looking at him.

"No one wanted me to miss a single minute of our trip. Everyone wanted to see where you were from and what your family and friends were like." Mark said smiling at him.

"OK. Well they're gonna have plenty to watch." Roger said laughing.

"Mark why don't you go home with mom and you can change and pick up more film and then Roger and Sara will pick you up when they're ready?" Christina suggested smiling at Mark.

"That sounds great." Mark said smiling at them.

"OK it's settled. We should go home and get changed Love knot." Sara said leaning down to kiss him before getting up.

"OK. We'll pick you up in a little while Mark." Roger said smiling at him as they left the hotel.

"So do you think we have time before we have to pick Mark up?" Sara asked kissing Roger passionately.

"Maybe." he said smiling down at her as they got undressed.

"I love you Roger." she moaned as they collapsed on the bed and began to caress one another.

"I love you too Sara." he said kissing her over and over again as they made love.


	6. Chapter 6

"Are you ready to party Adirondack style, Mark?" Roger asked smiling at Mark who was sitting in the back seat.

"I think I have enough film." he said laughing as Dustin, Heather, Kelly and Christina ran out of the bar to the car.

"It took you guys long enough. Come on. Everyone's here." Christina yelled as they got out of the car.

"Everyone who?" Roger asked curiously as Sara made her way to him.

"Everyone, everyone. Johnsburg class of 88." Nick said smiling at him as music blared from the bar.

"Davis, you're back. Dude, this town hasn't been the same since you left." Chris said as Roger walked into the bar.

"Hey Chris. Yeah, I'm back for good." Roger told him smiling as he held Sara in his arms.

"And I see the prom king and queen are back together again." he told him smiling.

"Prom king? You were the prom king?" Mark said beginning to film.

"There's a lot you doing know about me. It was because of Sara anyway." he said smiling at him.

"Oh do you remember this song, Roger?" Sara said looking up at him.

"Of course I remember this song. It always reminded me of you." Roger said laughing as they were handed bottles of beer.

"This is gonna be the coolest night ever. The great Roger Davis is back." Chris said raising his bottle as everyone did the same.

"Let's party." Roger said kissing Sara on the head before taking a swig of his beer.

"OK Davis. You and me. Pool. I'm gonna kick you're ass this time." Nick said as he began to rack 'em up.

"Doesn't your husband ever get sick of losing?" Roger asked smiling at Heather.

"Apparently not. I remember you used to beat him every time, but he'd come back for more." she said laughing as she watched him.

"Good luck Honey Bear." Sara said leaning up to kiss him before he went over to Nick.

"Thanks Boobie." he said caressing her face.

"Boy, I haven't heard those names in a while." Peggy said laughing.

"I know. I missed them." Sara said laughing back.

"So how is it having Roger back?" Peggy asked smiling at Sara.

"Great. I couldn't be happier." Sara said smiling wider than she had in 9 years.

"I can tell. I missed seeing you smile." she said smiling at her.

"I don't know, Peg. I mean, for 9 years I dreamed of the day Roger would come back and now he's here and it's better than I ever could have expected." Sara said smiling as she and Peggy sat down to watch Roger and Dustin play pool.

"I know sweetie. I'm so happy to see you're finally getting what you want." Peggy said laughing as Roger walked around the table.

"Oh, we're getting married next month." Sara said taking a swig of beer.

"You're kidding? Oh sweetie, that's wonderful." she said leaning over to hug her.

"Thank you." Sara said smiling at her friend.

"How's he doing? Really? With the HIV thing?" Peggy asked leaning into her.

"He's HIV positive Peggy. He's OK. He's healthy and he takes his medicine. And we're careful. I promise. We're OK." she told her reassuringly.

"Good. I'm glad to see you two so happy. He looks really good. I bet you love his hair all grown out like that." she said looking at him.

"I feel like he never left, you know." Sara said smiling as he winked at her.

"I can see that." Peggy said smiling at her as Roger came to their table.

"Hey Boobie." Roger said leaning down to kiss her.

"Hey Honey Bear." she said smiling up at him.

"What are you girls talking about?" he said sitting next to them.

"You." Sara said leaning over to kiss him.

"You look really good Roger." Peggy said smiling at him.

"Thanks." Roger said smiling back as he put his arm around Sara.

"Come on. I want to go play some songs on the juke box." Sara said grabbing Roger's arm and bringing him to the juke box.

"Don't they look great?" Christina asked sitting down next to Peggy.

"Yeah, it's been a while since Sara's been that happy." Peggy told her smiling at her.

"You wouldn't believe how much this place has not changed." Roger said laughing returning to the table with Sara in his arms.

"Yeah Rog, they only changed the records the year we graduated. You know it takes at least 10 years for them to change them." Peggy said as Chris came over to the table.

"Rog, you ready? We're up." he said holding a pool cue.

"Yeah, come on Boobie. Do you want to see me kick Chris' ass now?" he said sweeping her to him and kissing her.

"I never get sick of watching you play." she said laughing as she went with him to the pool table.

"So Mark, are you having fun?" Nick asked as Mark filmed everyone.

"Yeah, it's cool seeing Roger with you guys. Especially Sara." he said smiling.

"I know. I'm sorry he's leaving the city, but I'm glad to have him back." Dustin told him smiling.

"Did I hear the famous Roger Davis was back in town?" Erika said coming into the bar.

"Rika! Oh my God. It is so great you came." he said hugging her hello.

"Yeah well as soon as Peggy called and told me that you were back and everything was back to the way they're supposed to be, I had to get down here and see for myself." she said smiling up at him.

"Mark, come here. I want you to meet someone. This is Rika. She used to be the lead singer in the band we had in high school." he said smiling as Mark lowered his camera to greet the pretty blond.

"It's nice to meet you Rika." Mark said holding his hand out to her.

"Likewise Mark." she said smiling at him.

"Mark's my roommate down in the city. He's my best friend." Roger said smiling at the two of them noticing that they haven't taken their eyes off of each other.

"That's cool. How do you feel about Roger moving back here to be with Sara?" Erika asked smiling at him.

"As long as he's happy, I'm fine with it. I'll be up to visit him every once in a while." he said winding his camera.

"What do you do in the city, Mark?" she asked. He smiled, he loved the way she said his name. It was so beautiful.

"I'm a documentary filmmaker. My last one was about the homeless and people with HIV." he told her beginning to film her.

"That's really great. I'd like to see your work sometime." she said smiling at him.

"I'd like that." he said as Roger yelled in victory as he beat Chris at pool.

"Still the king." he yelled as he swept Sara into his arms and kissed her while everyone cheered.

"They are something, huh?" Erika said smiling at Roger and Sara.

"Yeah, I've never seen Roger like this before. He usually mopes around all the time. Seeing him happy like this is new for me." Mark said laughing with everyone else.

"OK who's next?" Roger called out as Sara laughed into his chest.

"Hey Davis, sit down. We're gonna fill Marky in on some stories on you." Dustin said as they all sat at the tables lined up next to the pool table.

"Well Mark, you wanted to hear stories about how Roger was growing up. You're gonna get your fill tonight." Christina said smiling.

"I can't wait." Mark said laughing as he and Erika walked to the table and sat next to each other.

"OK. Tell him about the time we went to Iron Maiden." Roger said laughing as Sara sat on his lap.

"Which time?" he asked taking a sip of his beer.

"86." Roger answered laughing.

"Oh, that was the time Roger tried getting backstage." Sara said as Roger ran his fingers through her hair.

"Wait. You tried to get backstage at Iron Maiden?" Mark asked filming all of it.

"Yeah, after the show he drags us behind the arena, right? This big security guy says, 'Hang on there. You can't come back here.' and Roger says, 'but dude, we're friends of Bruce's.' We almost died when he said that. You should have seen him. Here's this 16 year old kid in a leather jacket, chains hanging from his pants and this bleached punk haircut telling this security guard that he's friends with Bruce Dickinson." Dustin said as everyone laughed.

"Were you there Sara?" Mark asked laughing.

"Of course. I went everywhere with Roger." she said running her fingers through his hair.

"Yeah, all they did apart was go to the bathroom." Christina told him laughing.

"What about sleeping?" Mark asked filming them.

"They used to sneak out and sleep with each other and then leave early in the morning. Until dad caught them and put an end to it. He used to take Roger's car keys away so he couldn't leave in the middle of the night." she told him as Roger and Sara laughed.

"We were 16 and in love. What do you want from us?" Roger said leaning up to kiss Sara.

"Tell me more." Mark said laughing.

"How about the time we were brought home by the cops for breaking into the Ski Bowl on graduation night drunk?" Dustin said laughing.

"Yeah, had Roger not been 18, mom would have grounded him for sure." Christina told him laughing.

"Yeah, we put on a concert for everyone in our graduating class." Roger said smiling at him.

"That was the night you proposed to me." Sara said smiling down at him.

"Yeah, the smartest thing I ever did." he told her smiling at her before leaning up to kiss her.


	7. Chapter 7

"Hey Mark, are you ready? I want to get an early start." Roger yelled as he and Sara entered his mother's house.

"Yeah, I'm almost ready. Hang on." Mark yelled down the stairs as Mrs. Davis come out of the kitchen.

"Roger, what's all the yelling about?" she asked looking at him.

"Sorry mom. I want to get an early start. I have a lot of packing to do down there." Roger told her as Sara went into the kitchen to get coffee.

"When are you coming back?" she asked him as he followed Sara.

"Tomorrow. I'm gonna pack this afternoon and me and Sara are gonna hang out at the loft and we're coming back up with the moving van tomorrow." he said as Sara handed him his coffee.

"OK. Sara, do you want me to feed Davis for you?" Mrs. Davis asked her.

"I would really appreciate it. Thanks. Heather said she would do it, but her allergies are acting up and Chrissy and Kelly aren't here to do it." she said rubbing her eyes, obviously still tired.

"Of course I wouldn't mind. I hardly get to spend any time with him anymore." Mrs. Davis said smiling.

"Thanks." she said yawning.

"Are you OK sweetie?" Mrs. Davis asked looking at Sara.

"Yeah, I'm fine. We hung out a J&J's last night after the wedding and then Roger just kept me up half the night talking and woke me up at the crack of dawn." she said leaning on the counter drinking her coffee.

"Oh poor girl. Roger, she needs her sleep. She worked so hard on the wedding and now that it's over, she finally gets to rest. Stop keeping her up all night." Mrs. Davis told him sternly.

"No I'm fine. I just need coffee." she said smiling up at Roger.

"OK guys. I'm ready." Mark said coming into the kitchen.

"Come on Honey Bear, we have to go." Sara said pouring her coffee into a travel mug before kissing Mrs. Davis goodbye.

"Bye mom. We'll be home tomorrow." he told her hugging her.

"Oh how I've waited to hear you say that." she said hugging him tight.

"Mrs. Davis, thank you so much for everything. I had a great time. I am definitely gonna visit more." Mark said hugging Mrs. Davis good bye.

"I hope so. It was wonderful having you." she said hugging him tight.

"Come on Mark, we gotta go." Roger yelled from outside.

"I'll be back tomorrow with Roger, Mrs. Davis." Sara said hugging her.

"I know sweetie. I'll see you tomorrow. Make sure Roger's careful driving, OK?" she said smiling at her.

"I will. I promise." she said smiling back as she went outside and got in the car with the guys and they pulled away.

"So Mark, what happened with you and Rika last night?" Roger asked as he made his way to the city.

"Nothing much. We talked for a while and then she kissed me." he said smiling from the back seat.

"No way. Mark that's great. What are you gonna do? I mean, you live down there and she lives up here?" Sara asked looking back at him.

"Well we're gonna exchange phone calls and letters until I can make it back up here to see her or she'll come down to see me." he said fiddling with his camera.

"She's a really nice girl Mark. I'm sorry you live down there." Sara said smiling at him.

"Well, it'll give him an excuse to come up and visit us more, right Mark?" Roger said looking at him through the rear view mirror.

"I hope so." Sara said looking at Roger as they continued to drive. Before long Sara was asleep in he front seat.

"So a lot's changing, huh?" Mark said looking at Roger in the front seat.

"Yeah, it is. But Mark, you'll always be my best friend. We've been through so much together." Roger said quietly as Mark looked down.

"I know and seeing how happy you are with Sara makes you leaving easier. You two were meant for each other." he said smiling at him.

"We are meant for each other. I mean, Mark I've always loved her. From the time I was 5 I've loved her." he said smiling at the sleeping Sara.

"And she's loved you since she was 5 too. I'm happy you found your way back to her." Mark said looking at Roger.

"Mark man, she's the only girl I ever really loved. I mean, I always belonged to her. I was just too stupid for all those years to realize it. Being with her is all I ever wanted. When I die, it's her love I want in my heart." Roger said wiping the single tear that had fallen from his eye.

"I know Rog. You don't have to convince me. I get it. I really do." Mark said reassuringly as Roger continued to drive.

"Boobie, we're here." Roger said gently waking Sara from her sleep.

"How long was I asleep?" she asked looking around and seeing the run down apartment buildings around her.

"4 hours." he said smiling as he leaned in to kiss her.

"I'm sorry I fell asleep. I was really tired." she said smiling at him.

"It's OK. It's been a draining weekend." he said kissing her hand before getting out of the car.

"So this is where you moved to after you left?" she asked looking around.

"Yeah, it's not as bad as it looks." he said as Mark got his bags out of the trunk and he, Roger and Sara made their way up stairs to the loft.

"It doesn't look that bad. I can see the appeal. It's not as boring as home." she said holding Roger as they climbed the stairs.

"Home's not that bad." he said leaning over to kiss her.

"I thought I heard your voices. Welcome home Mark. And you must be Sara. It is so nice to meet you. I'm Mimi. We spoke on the phone the other night." Mimi said smiling at her as she excitedly hugged Sara hello.

"Mimi, can you let my fiance breath please? We had a long drive and she just woke up." Roger said laughing as he rescued Sara from Mimi.

"Oh I'm sorry. Are you guys hungry? I've been cooking upstairs. I just came down here to change. Maureen, Joanne and Collins are up there. So fair warning, Maureen's emotional because Roger's leaving." she rambled fixing her skirt before they headed upstairs.

"Oh wonderful." Roger said unhappy as he wrapped his arms around Sara's waist.

"Oh stop Roger. She's not that bad." Mimi said smiling as Mark opened the loft door.

"You're home." Maureen yelled jumping up to greet them.

"Maureen calm down. Sara just woke up. Give her some space." Roger said holding Sara close to him.

"So this is the famous Sara. I'm Collins, the big brother of the group. It is so nice to finally meet you. All Roger has are pictures of you when you were younger and a teenager." Collins said standing over her.

"It's nice to finally meet you too Collins. Roger's been telling me about you guys since friday night." she said smiling at everyone.

"So tell us. How was Roger as a teenager?" Joanne asked smiling at her.

"Not too different from how he is now. At least from what I see. But I understand he was a mope before he came home." Sara said laughing.

"Just a bit." Collins said teasingly.

"Are you guys hungry? I made plenty of food." Mimi said going into the kitchen.

"I'm starving. Are you hungry Boobie?" Roger asked looking down at Sara.

"Boobie? What's that?" Joanne asked looking at them.

"It's what Roger always calls me." Sara said looking at Mark laughing.

"What's so funny?" Collins asked laughing only because they were.

"Here we go." Roger said retreating to the kitchen.

"What'd we miss?" Mimi asked looking up at Roger.

"You'll see." he said shoving food in his mouth.

"OK, you two have to tell us what you're laughing about." Collins said as Sara and Mark looked at each other.

"Sara's nickname for Roger is Honey Bear." Mark said laughing even harder as Sara smiled at Roger smiled back.

"What? That's not so bad. It's cute." Mimi said smiling up at Roger.

"That's the same thing Pookie calls me. How come you never said anything?" Maureen asked laughing.

"Didn't want to think about it." Roger said looking over at them.

"That's sweet Sara." Mimi said smiling at them.

"Boobie, come on you have to eat." Roger said making a plate for her.

"Gimme a minute. Mimi, can I talk to you for a minute?" she asked smiling at her.

"Sure, we'll go in Roger's room." Mimi said smiling up at Roger before leading her to Roger's room.

"Mimi, thank you so much for sending him home to me." Sara said hugging Mimi.

"Listen girlfriend, I only told him he should do what he wanted to do in his heart all along. He loves you so much." she said hugging her back.

"I was a mess without him. He told me that you told him he should do whatever it takes to get me back. He volunteered to move back home even before I stopped yelling at him." Sara told her as tears fell from her eyes.

"Well, when I was going through withdrawal, he was so great. I mean he nursed me back to health and everything. He was there ever step of the way. We used to talk all night long when I couldn't sleep. I'd beg him to tell me about home and he just lit up. He would tell me about you. How beautiful you were and how much you guys lived for each other from the moment you met in kindergarten. He even showed me pictures of you guys. From kindergarten on. He and I became such good friends during those talks. That's when we decided it was over between us. His heart always belonged to you. I saw that. It would have been selfish of me to hold on to him when I felt so guilty for keeping him from you. I felt like the other woman." Mimi said smiling at her.

"I was mad at you for a long time, you know. I mean, I would hear all these stories about what he was doing down here and you and April. It hurt me so much. But then he came home to me and told me everything. About his relationship with April, the drugs, you. I felt horrible for hating you after what he told me. I just wanted to thank you for what you did for me and Roger." Sara said wiping her eyes.

"Oh Honey, you guys deserve everything you're getting right now. Your happy ending." Mimi said hugging Sara again.

"Just... thank you." Sara said smiling at her.

"No problem sweetie." Mimi said as they went back out to the main room.

"Is everything OK Boobie?" Roger asked standing at the counter eating.

"Yeah, everything is fine Honey Bear." she said going over to him.

"Eat something." he said handing her the plate he made for her.

"I'm not that hungry, I'll have a little." she said picking at the salad.

"Boobie, can I talk to you for a minute?" Roger asked bringing her back into his bedroom.

"Roger, I'm fine. I just needed to talk to Mimi. You know, thank her for sending you back to me." Sara told him smiling up at him.

"It's not that. Sara, I've been noticing how much weight you've lost and how little you eat. Are you OK?" he asked pointedly.

"Yeah Roger, I'm fine. I just haven't had much of an appetite. I'm fine." she told him smiling up at him.

"For 9 years?" he asked rubbing her arms.

"I'm fine Roger. I mean, I lost a lot of weight after you left, but I've gained most of it back." she said looking up at him.

"Boobie, I want you healthy. You need to start eating more. Please. It seems like you avoid eating as often as you can." he said caressing her cheek.

"I'm sorry Roger. You're right. It's just, I'm not used to having time to eat with work and everything and losing you... I don't know, I'm just not used to eating." she told him as tears sprang to her eyes.

"Boobie, for me. Please start eating more." he asked her holding her face in his hands.

"OK. I promise I will." she told him leaning in to him.

"Thank you. I love you Boobie." he said smiling down at her.

"I love you too Honey Bear." she said wrapping her arms around his neck and pulling him close.

"Let's go eat." he said smiling at her.

"OK." she told him as they left the room.

"What was that all about?" Mark asked quietly as Sara went to the metal counter to eat.

"Have you noticed how little she's been eating this weekend?" Roger asked quietly.

"Yeah, but I didn't know her before, so I didn't know what was normal for her to eat." Mark whispered as they watched her laughing with Mimi, attempting to eat.

"She lost a lot of weight Mark. I noticed it when I first picked her up, but I didn't want to confront her at that moment. It wasn't the right time. We had just gotten back together and I was just happy to be with her. But Mark, she's lost so much weight, it's not healthy. I've barely seen her eat all weekend and the way she was avoiding eating before, I had to confront her about it. She said she's gonna start eating again." he told him as Mark looked at her.

"Roger, she's negative, remember? It's not dangerous for her to lose weight." Mark told him looking at her.

"Mark, she's 5'4" and she weighs barely 100 lbs. That's not healthy with or without HIV. She didn't even weigh that in high school." he said frustrated.

"Well Roger, you know her better than anyone." Mark said looking up at him.

"Yeah I do. I did this to her." he said running his hands through his hair.

"Roger, stop talking like that. You're here now. You can help her gain it back and be healthy again." Mark told him.

"Yeah, I just hope it's not too late." he said going over to where Mimi and Sara were standing.


	8. Chapter 8

"Do you guys have to go back so soon?" Mimi asked with her arm around Sara.

"We don't want to, but I have to be back at work tomorrow and I have to start the search for my new assistant. I need more time with my fiance." she told her smiling at Roger.

"But I wish you guys could visit for longer." Mimi said hugging Sara.

"You are coming up for our wedding next month, right?" Sara asked smiling.

"July 7th, I wouldn't miss it for the world." she said smiling at her.

"I can get you guys rooms at my hotel. It'll be great." Sara said smiling at everyone.

"Baby girl, we wouldn't miss your wedding for anything. We'll definitely be there. Consider this our RSVP." Collins said hugging her tight.

"Good. Because I want my new friends there." Sara said hugging him back.

"You guys better not be strangers. Roger's room is here anytime you guys want to visit." Mark insisted hugging Sara next.

"We will. We promise." Roger said hugging Collins.

"We are really gonna miss you guys." Collins told him ruffling his hair.

"I know. We're gonna miss you guys too." Roger said as tears filled his eyes.

"We've all been through a lot, haven't we?" Collins said as his own eyes filled with tears.

"Yeah. April, fights over drugs, April again, withdrawal, HIV, Mimi, Angel. I love you Collins. I always wanted a big brother and then when I needed one the most, I got you." Roger said as Collins as only a brother could.

"I know. But you're going home to be with the woman you've loved your whole life and get married like you were supposed to all those years ago. You're still my little brother, man." Collins told him as Maureen and Joanne said their good byes to Sara.

"I know man. You know where to find me if you need anything. Just take care of yourself." Roger told him looking up at him as he wiped his eyes.

"I will man. Don't worry about me. I'm in it for the long haul. Just take care of your lady and give her all the happiness she's been waiting for. She deserves it." Collins said smiling at him.

"I will. Thanks man." Roger said looking to Maureen and Joanne. Both of whom were a mess.

"We are gonna miss you so much, Roger." Maureen said crying as she hugged him tight.

"I know Mo, I'm gonna miss you guys too. Even you." Roger said hugging her back.

"We'll see you next month at your wedding." she said pulling away and wiping her eyes.

"It wouldn't be complete without you." he said smiling at her.

"You take care of her Roger. She loves you so much." Maureen whispered to him holding back another wave of tears.

"I know Mo. I've loved her my whole left." Roger said putting her hair behind her ears.

"OK." Maureen said as Joanne said her good bye.

"You better be happy." she said smiling at him holding back her own tears.

"I am Jo. I promise. I have never been happier in my life." he reassured her.

"OK. So go start your life with that beautiful woman. You're lucky she loves you so much, you know? You are so stubborn, I wouldn't have waited for you." she told him laughing.

"You know you would have waited for me, Jo." he teased, lightening the mood.

"Yeah, I would have." she smiled kissing him on the cheek.

"I am the luckiest guy on earth." he said hugging her tight.

"Where's Mark?" Sara asked looking around wiping her face which was wet from tears.

"He went in his room for something." Collins said smiling.

"I wonder what." she asked as Mimi went to Roger.

"We've done this too many times." Mimi said laughing to cover her tears.

"I'm gonna miss you too Mimi." he said leaning down to hug her.

"Thank you for everything Roger. Really. Without you, I'd be dead." she said crying into his neck.

"Thank you. Without you, I wouldn't have known happiness like this again." he said crying with her.

"You better take care of her. And Roger, make her eat. She's too damn skinny. Even for me. It's not healthy. Especially if you wanna start a family with her." Mimi whispered in his ear.

"I'm working on it Meems. I really am." he reassured her smiling.

"I'm so happy to see you loved the way you deserve to be." she told him smiling up at him.

"Thanks Mimi. You'll have it too, you know? Just be patient." he told her stroking her hair.

"I know." she said laughing as he let her go.

"Mark, where have you been? You're missing the good byes" Collins asked as Mark came out of the building.

"I wanted to get this together for Roger and Sara first. I was up all night getting it together." he said handing them a picture frame. The picture in it was of Roger and Sara at the rehearsal dinner. They were dancing to their song.

"This is incredible Mark. I love it." Sara said as tears streamed down her face even more.

"That's a really good picture of you guys." Mimi said wiping her tears.

"We were dancing to our song. It was the night we got back together." Sara told her smiling at the picture.

"What is your song anyway?" Maureen asked looking over Sara's shoulder looking at the picture.

"When I Look Into Your Eyes by Firehouse." Sara and Mimi answered in unison as they looked at each other laughing.

"I told you I told Mimi everything." Roger said laughing as he looked down at the filmmaker. "Mark, this is incredible. Thank you so much. For everything." Roger said hugging his best friend.

"Rog, just be happy, OK? That's all I ask." Mark said hugging him.

"You're gonna come up to see Rika, right?" Roger asked pulling away from him.

"Of course. But leave it to me to get a girlfriend who lives 250 miles away." Mark said laughing.

"Who knows? You might just move up there to be with her the way I did." Roger teased laughing.

"I'm a boho boy at heart, Rog. You know that. I'm not gonna leave here willingly." Mark told him laughing.

"You never know. Love makes you do crazy things." Roger told him smiling at Sara.

"Take care of her Rog. I mean it. Get her to eat more." Mark said looking at Sara.

"I will Mark. I promise. I didn't find her just to lose her again." Roger said as they all gave their final hugs and Roger and Sara got in the moving van.

"Be careful driving Roger. If you get tired, let Sara drive." Collins instructed as Roger smiled at him.

"OK big bro. We'll do." he said smiling as he began to drive off.

"We should bring them up a week before the wedding. You know just for a little vacation. And I want to spend more time with them." Sara said smiling at Roger.

"That is an excellent idea Boobie." Roger said holding her hand.

"Are you sure you really want to leave them?" Sara asked looking over at Roger.

"Boobie, I have never been more sure of anything in my life." he told her smiling at her.

"But they love you so much Roger. And you love them." she said holding back tears.

"I want to go home with you. To our apartment, our friends, our life, our cat. I want to be with you Sara. I know you feel guilty, but you have nothing to feel guilty about. This is what I want." he told her reaching over to caress her cheek.

"OK. I'm sorry Roger. I just don't want you to regret moving back home to be with me." she said wiping the tears that had escaped from her eyes.

"The only regret I have is leaving you all those years ago. That's it Boobie. I love you and I choose you." he said as they drove home.

"I love you too Roger." she said smiling over at him.


	9. Chapter 9

"Mimi, just wear something you'll be comfortable in... Don't worry about it. No one will even notice them... I promise. It's too hot for you to be wearing sweaters and stuff... I don't know what Heather is wearing. It doesn't matter, just be yourself... OK just come over when you're done... no, they're meeting us at the bar... don't worry about it, you can ride with me and Roger... I know Mimi. I love you too... OK see you in 15 minutes. Bye." Sara said sitting on the bed laughing.

"Mimi?" Roger said getting dressed for their wedding rehearsal.

"Yeah, she's worried about what she wears. She doesn't want anyone to see her track marks." Sara said getting up to wrap her arms around Roger's neck.

"You can't even see them anymore. She's just being self conscious." he said leaning down to kiss her.

"I told her that. She should be here in 15 minutes." she said holding him.

"You better check on her in 10." Roger said laughing as she pulled away to look at him.

"I will. I am so glad she's only staying across the street." Sara said laughing.

"Yeah, she'd be driving my mom nuts if she stayed there." Roger said kissing her again before sitting down to put his shoes on.

"Oh, your mom loves her and you know it." Sara said brushing her hair again.

"I know. But she is so nervous, her and my mom would be driving each other nuts." he said smiling up at her.

"I know. I wonder why she is so nervous. We're the ones getting married." she said laughing.

"Well she loves us and wants us to be happy. Together." he said smiling up at her.

"We will be. I have no doubt about that." she said leaning down to kiss him.

"Yes we will." he said as she smiled at him.

"I better go check on Mimi. We'll meet you down stairs." she said getting her pocket book and leaning down to kiss him one more time. "I love you Roger." she said smiling at him.

"I love you too Sara." he said as he watched her leave their apartment. In less than 24 hours they were getting married finally and he was ecstatic. He couldn't wait.

"Mimi, chica. Can I come in?" Sara called out opening the door to her room in the hotel.

"Yeah, come on in Sara. How do I look?" she asked. She was wearing a baby blue sundress and her hair was in a French braid.

"You look incredible sweetie. I don't know why you were so worried. You look great." she said smiling at her.

"Thanks. I just don't want to embarrass you and Roger." she said fixing her dress.

"You will not embarrass us. Listen to me Mimi. You're our friend. We love you and we want you to be there. I don't care if you come in jeans and a torn t-shirt. But if you did, Roger would whine because I wouldn't let him wear what he wanted to wear." she said as she and Mimi laughed.

"You are so awesome. I am so glad Roger is marrying you. If he wasn't, I'd be kicking his ass. You guys love each other so much, you deserve this. I just don't want anything to ruin it. Especially Roger's ex junkie ex girlfriend." she said looking down at her feet.

"Mimi, you have worked so hard to get where you are now and I am so grateful for you. I mean, you were such a good friend to Roger. You told him to do whatever it took to get me back and you sent him home. I owe you so big for that. You belong here." Sara said hugging Mimi.

"Thanks Sara. I love you, you know?" she said hugging her back.

"Yeah, I know. Now let's go before my husband to be has a nervous breakdown." Sara said laughing.

"I wouldn't want you to keep him waiting." Mimi said laughing as they left the room.

"So everything OK?" Roger asked parked in front of the hotel in his and Sara's car.

"Yeah Honey Bear. Everything is perfect. Let's get to our wedding rehearsal party." Sara said laughing as they got in the car and started for the bar.

"There's the lucky couple. What took you guys so long?" Dustin asked standing with Heather and Collins.

"Wardrobe crisis." Sara said putting her arm around Mimi's shoulders.

"Yeah, sorry about that." Mimi said as Roger put his arm around Sara's waist.

"Yeah, my girl the fashion consultant." he said beaming as Heather went to greet them.

"Well Mimi, you look beautiful." she said hugging her.

"Thanks." Mimi said looking down.

"See, I told you." Sara said smiling at Mimi.

"Thanks chica." Mimi said hugging Sara.

"Oh good, you're here. Come on. We can get this party started." Maureen said coming out of the bar.

"OK Mo. We're coming." Sara said smiling up at her.

"You ready Boobie?" Roger asked smiling down at Sara.

"Yes Honey Bear, let's party." she said smiling up at him.

"This is gonna be the best night ever." Mark said with his arm around Erika.

"Yeah it is." Heather said smiling at them.

"Let's go inside" Roger said as he leaned down to kiss Sara.

"Come on you two. Geez, you're getting married tomorrow and you still can't keep your hands off of each other." Dustin said laughing at them.

"Well I love my girl. Sue me." Roger said as he picked Sara up into his arms and carried her into J&J's where they decided to have their rehearsal party. They didn't want anything too fancy or formal. They just wanted to hang out with their friends.

"Come on, you two. It's time for the Davis/ Drake wedding rehearsal party to start." Mrs. Davis said handing them beer with little beer holders on them. Roger's was a little tuxedo and Sara's was a little wedding dress.

"This is so cute mom." Sara said laughing as she looked at her beer.

"Yeah mom. Where did you get these?" Roger asked laughing.

"Mimi made them. She thought it would be cute." Mrs. Davis said smiling at Mimi.

"Mimi, these are great. I can't believe you did this. I love it." Sara said hugging Mimi.

"I just wanted you guys to have something special. It wasn't that hard." Mimi said smiling at her.

"You are so great, Mimi. Thank you." she said smiling back at her.

"Are we gonna get this party started, or stand around hugging and kissing all night." Mr. Drake said holding is beer.

"OK dad. Down boy. We're coming." Sara said as everyone laughed.

"Let's party Boobie." Roger said leaning down as he wrapped his free arm around her waist.

"OK Roger. It's party time." she said looking up at him.

"Hey Mark, get some songs going on that jukebox." Roger yelled as he picked Sara up by her waist and carried her over to where the long table was set up.

"Music is coming Rog." he said laughing as he and Erika began picking songs out to play on the jukebox.

"Awesome song Mark." Roger said putting Sara down as he swayed with her to the music.

"You still can't dance." she said laughing as he attempted to dance to the song.

"You never complained before." he said leaning down to kiss her neck.

"That's OK Honey Bear. I love you anyway." she said turning around to wrap her arms around his neck and pull him into a tender kiss.

"You two are sickening." Erika said laughing as Mark buried his face in her neck.

"Like you two are ones to talk." Sara said smiling at them.

"Yeah well." Erika laughed louder as Mark began to tickle her neck.

"This is probably the coolest wedding rehearsal dinner this town has ever seen." Mimi said laughing with Collins' arm around her.

"Well we couldn't do something ordinary. That just wouldn't be us. Right Boobie?" Roger asked smiling down at her.

"Right Honey Bear." she said laughing as Mark and Erika danced in each other's arms.

"_Listen, red light, yellow light, green light go. Crazy lttle woman in a one man show. Mirror queen, mannequin, rhythm of love. Sweet dream, saccharine, loosen up, loosen up, I loosen up. You gotta squeeze a little, squeeze a little, tease a little more. Easy operator come a knockin on my door. Sometime, anytime, sugar me sweet. Little miss ah innocent sugar me, yeah. Give a little more.__"_Roger and Sara sung laughing as everyone cheered.

"You guys are so great together. Why don't you start a real rock band?" Collins said as everyone nodded.

"Yeah, you guys sing really good together." Joanne said smiling at them.

"Thanks guys. But I have a job. Being the rock star was always Rogers thing. I'm his groupie." Sara said laughing.

"Yeah, my own personal groupie." Roger said kissing her neck.

"OK, we need to get the festivities started." Mrs. Drake said laughing as they sat at the table.

"Is this the part where we hear embarrassing stories about Roger and Sara?" Mimi asked excitedly as she sat down at the table.

"Yes Mimi. It is." she told her laughing more.

"Oh goody." Mimi said clapping her hands.

"Great." Roger said burying his face in Sara's neck.

"This is gonna be fun." Maureen said laughing as everyone sat at the table.

"OK tell us about Sara's first impression of Roger." Collins said smiling as he drank his stoli.

"Well, she came home from her first day of kindergarten and told me about this boy. She said he pulled her hair and she kept going on and on about what an icky boy he was." Mrs. Drake said as everyone laughed.

"And Roger came home and told me about this pretty girl with the prettiest hair. He just kept going on an on about when he was pulling it, it was so soft." Mrs. Davis said as everyone laughed.

"You two were so cute." Joanne said laughing.

"Yeah, and then when we were in 3rd grade, Roger swore she was gonna be his girlfriend." Dustin said laughing.

"Well she is, isn't she?" Roger said laughing holding Sara in his arms.

"To the happy couple. Roger and Sara, you deserve all the happiness in the world." Collins said raising his glass as everyone followed suit.

"I'll drink to that." Mimi said smiling at Sara, who was beaming.


	10. Chapter 10

"Are you ready sweetie?" Mimi asked as she, Maureen, Joanne, Erika, Heather and Christina helped her get dressed for her wedding.

"I can't believe it's finally here. My wedding day to Roger. The only man I've ever loved." she said smiling at everyone as tears ran down her face.

"Don't start again Sara. It took you forever to stop the last time." Christina said putting her arm around Sara's shoulder.

"I know. I'm sorry. It just doesn't seem real. I've wanted it for so long that now that it's here, I just can't believe it. I guess I'm just waiting for it all be just a dream." she said wiping under her eyes to fix her make up.

"I know sweetie. But it's not a dream, so we have to get ready to meet your groom at the alter, or you aren't going to be getting married today." Christina said fixing Sara's hair.

"I'm sorry. You're right. Let me just fix my make up and we'll be ready to go." Sara said smiling at them.

"OK. Now the car's outside. We really have to go." Heather said coming in from the balcony.

"OK Heath, thanks." she said smiling at her as she stood up and looked at everyone. "So how do I look?" she said smiling at everyone.

"You look incredible sweetie. You are gonna knock Roger's socks off." Mimi said smiling at her.

"Thank you so much you guys. I'm glad you are all here. Otherwise, I'd be a mess." she said smiling at them.

"Oh yeah and you're so together now." Heather said as all of the women laughed.

"You know what I mean." Sara said laughing.

"Yeah we know chica. But we have to go now. Your chariot awaits." she said smiling at her as they left the apartment and headed to the church.

"You ready Rog?" Collins asked fixing Roger's tie.

"Yeah, I think so. Why am I so nervous? I've loved Sara my whole life. All I have ever wanted to do was marry her and now that I am, I am really nervous." Roger told him smiling at him.

"You're so nervous because you've wanted to marry her your whole life and now that you are, you're afraid that you won't be good enough for her." he told him as a tear escaped from Roger's eye.

"Yeah, I guess so. I just don't want to let her down." he said as he wiped his eye.

"You won't Rog. From what I've seen you love that girl. You've always loved her. Now all you have to do is keep loving her the way you do and you'll be fine." Collins said taking Roger's face in his hands.

"I know. I will." Roger said smiling at him as the larger man hugged him.

"Roger, they're here. We need to start taking position." Mark said as he smiled at Roger.

"OK Mark. You better go Collins. You have to walk with Mimi." Roger said smiling at him.

"I know. Good luck man." Collins said patting Roger on his shoulder before going down the aisle and to the hallway.

"So are you nervous?" Mark asked smiling at Roger.

"Petrified. But I'm marrying the woman I love more than anything in the world, so I'll be fine." he said smiling at him.

"OK Rog. Let's get ready." he said smiling at him.

"Thanks man." Roger said as he and Mark took their places at the alter.

"Ready Sara?" Mr. Drake asked looking down at the young woman.

"Yeah, I'm ready daddy." she said smiling up at him as he music started. Mimi and Collins came out first, followed by Maureen and Joanne, Kelly and Erika, Dustin and Heather and Christina walked alone before Sara and Mr. Drake. When Sara and Mr. Drake came into view Roger's eyes filled with tears. She was a vision.

"She looks beautiful Roger." Mark told him smiling at him.

"Yes she does." was all Roger could manage. His eyes were trained on his bride. Her eyes were filling up with tears seeing him in his tuxedo waiting for her to join him so they could get married.

"Dearly beloved, we are gathered here today to join Roger and Sara in holy matrimony. I have known Roger and Sara their whole lives. I baptized them, gave them their first holy communion, confirmed them and now I am finally getting the honor of marrying them." the priest began as Roger and Sara looked at one another. Each had tears falling from their eyes. As their wedding ceremony continued there wasn't a dry eye in the house. They said the traditional vows as they both cried through out. As Sara slipped the wedding band on Roger's finger, the priest announced them man and wife and the entire church broke out in applause.

"I love you Roger." Sara said as he broke their kiss.

"I love you too Sara." he said caressing her face with his hand.

"Congratulations guys." Mark said patting them on the back.

"Thanks Mark." Roger said smiling at him as he held Sara in his arms still standing on the alter of the church savoring the moment.

"Are you OK Roger?" she asked looking at him. He looked so content and so happy.

"Yeah Boobie. I'm just taking all of this in." he said kissing her head as her parents, his mother, and all of their friends and family stood and clapped for them.

"Are you guys OK?" Christina asked approaching them as they stood happily in each others arms.

"Yeah, we've never been better." Sara told her smiling up at Roger.

"Are you ready to party now, Boobie?" he asked smiling down at her.

"Yes I am." she said as they left the alter and began to leave the church.

"Mr. And Mrs. Roger Davis." Collins called out as they exited the church and everyone proceeded to cheer again outside.

"It's about time." Heather yelled clapping the hardest.

"Well like you always said Heather, I'm not the brightest bulb in the box, but I do light eventually." he said laughing as he held Sara tight. He was so happy, he was afraid something would come along and rip everything out from under him.

"I love you Mr. Davis." Sara said smiling up at him.

"I love you too Mrs. Davis." he said smiling at her as he leaned down to kiss her.

"OK you two, you're married now, you can stop hanging all over each other." Heather said laughing at them.

"Never." Roger said burying his face in Sara's neck as he held on to her tight around her tiny waist.

"OK Roger can you please get your face out of your wife's neck for 5 minutes? We need to take pictures." Mrs. Davis said with a huge smile on her face.

"But mom, you're not the boss of me anymore. Sara is. And she likes my face in her neck." he said in child like voice as Sara tried to hide her face because she was laughing.

"Roger Matthew Davis, just because you're a married man it doesn't mean I can't still come up there." she said as Sara looked up at him laughing as her jaw dropped.

"Roger Matthew. You're in trouble now." she laughed as he looked at her like a 10 year old.

"Mom, middle name remember?" he asked laughing as everyone else laughed too as Roger got yelled at by his mom.

"Roger will you just stand up straight so we can get pictures and go to the reception please?" she said laughing at her son.

"Fine." he said laughing as he stood up straight so pictures could be taken.

"I love you Roger." Sara said quietly as they looked at each other.

"I love you too Sara, so much." he said leaning down to kiss her.


	11. Chapter 11

"OK, who wants to hear Sara sing for real?" Roger asked as they hung out at the Ski Bowl after the wedding.

"It's been years since I've actually heard Sara sing." Heather called out sitting between Dustin's legs on the grass.

"Yeah well it's been years since I've had a reason to sing." Sara said with her arm around her husbands neck.

"Well now you do. What do you want to sing?" he asked leaning over to kiss her.

"I don't know, how about an old favorite?" she suggested caressing his cheek.

"I know what one you want." he said smiling before grabbing his guitar and playing the opening riff to the song.

"Oh man, you guys. That's a blast from the past." Christina said as she, Kelly, Heather, Dustin and Erika smiled at each other and the bohemians just looked at them confused.

"What do you mean?" Mark asked looking at Erika, who was laying in his arms on the grass.

"You'll see. It was the only song I didn't sing with them. It was strictly Roger and Sara." she said smiling up at him.

"_Baby, I get so scared inside and I don't really understand. Is it love that's on my mind or is it fantasy.__"_Sara started as she gazed into Roger's eyes.

"_Heaven, is in the palm of my hand, and it's waiting here for you. What am I supposed to do with a childhood tragedy.__"_Roger sung smiling at her. "_If I close my eyes forever, will it all remain unchanged. If I close my eyes forever, will it all remain the same. Sometimes, it's hard to hold on, so hard to hold on to my dreams. It isn't always what it seems when you're face to face with me.__"_ he continued looking down at his guitar.

"_You're like a dagger, you stick me in the heart, and taste the blood from my blade. And when we sleep would you shelter me in your warm and darkened grave.__"_ she sung sweeping her long hair behind her ear. "_If I close my eyes forever, will it all remain unchanged. If I close my eyes forever, will it all remain the same. Will you ever take me.__"_she sung louder and more confident.

"_No I just can't take the pain.__"_he sung smiling.

"_Will you ever trust me.__"_she sung smiling back at him.

"_No, I'll never feel the same. Oh.__"_ he sung as he continued playing his guitar and everyone clapped.

"Girl, you can sing." Collins said as everyone cheered.

"Yeah, I've only ever sung with Roger. He talked me into it one night and that was always the only song I ever sung." Sara said as Roger pulled her closer to kiss her.

"Not for lack of trying on my part. But she never wanted to take any songs away from Rika." Roger said holding his wife in his arms.

"That's not the reason. It was because Rika was so much better than me. I can't sing next to her." Sara said smiling at Erika.

"Oh sweetie, you and Roger sing awesome together." Erika said smiling at them.

"Yeah, you can match Roger's voice and we all know that's not easy to do." Collins said as he held Mimi.

"Well I want to see where Roger proposed to Sara." Mimi said jumping up to grab Sara's hand to help her up.

"I'll be right back Honey Bear." Sara said kissing Roger before being dragged down to the beach by Mimi.

"Hurry back, Mrs. Davis." he said laughing at them. "Can you believe how close those two are?" Roger asked as everyone laughed.

"I think it's cute." Heather said laughing as Dustin held her in his arms.

"Yeah, but you're gonna be in trouble when we get down to the city." Mark said laughing.

"It's gonna be so cool having you guys there for 2 weeks, but why didn't you go to like Hawaii or something for your honeymoon or something?" Collins asked smiling at him.

"It's where Sara wanted to go." Roger said smiling. "She wanted to spend more time with everyone. And see the city me." he said laughing.

"Well I'm glad you guys are doing this. It's gonna be cool spending time with you and your wife." Maureen said sitting in Joanne's arms.

"Yeah, it is gonna be cool." Roger said looking down towards the beach.

"So this is where it all started, huh?" Mimi said smiling as she and Sara walked hand in hand down to the beach.

"Yeah, Roger asked me out over there where the picnic tables are and right up there he asked me to marry him on graduation night." she said pointing things out.

"You guys are really meant to be together, aren't you?" Mimi said smiling over at her.

"Yeah we are. Mimi, I know I keep doing this and you're probably sick of it by now, but thank you for sending him home to me." Sara said stopping to look at Mimi.

"Oh chica, he was always yours. I'm just sorry I stood in the way for so long. Had I known he still loved you, I would have sent him home sooner. Trust me. Roger's happiness means a lot to me." she said hugging her.

"Well thank you. I am so glad he has a friend like you who would do that for him. And that I have a friend like you now." she said hugging her tighter.

"Well, yours and Rogers love gives me hope that I'll find someone one day." Mimi said as tears sprung to her eyes.

"Oh sweetie, you will. You are such an incredible person. Just be with someone who is a friend too." Sara said smiling as she wiped Mimi's tears from her eyes.

"Thanks Sara." Mimi said as they began to walk back to where the others were.

"Roger's performing tomorrow night, you guys are still coming, right?" Sara said with her arm around Mimi.

"Of course. I wouldn't miss it. It could be one last hurrah before we all go down to the city." Mimi said smiling at her.

"Mimi, you know you're more than welcome to come up and visit us anytime, right?" Sara said smiling at her.

"Yeah, I know. But you don't need me hanging around all the time. You and Roger are in love and you need time to be a normal married couple." Mimi said looking over at her.

"Mimi, you're one of my best friends. I'll always be here for you." Sara said smiling at her.

"I know. Thank you." Mimi said as they got back to the others.

"Is everything OK Boobie?" Roger asked looking at Sara as she sat next to him again.

"Yeah, everything is perfect." she said leaning over to kiss him passionately.

"How about we cut tonight short? We have to leave early tomorrow for the city." Collins said smiling at them.

"OK. Good idea sweetie." Sara said smiling at him.

"You guys be careful driving down there and have fun." Heather said hugging Sara and Roger goodbye.

"We will Heather. Thanks." Roger said smiling down at her.

"Congratulations sweetie. You finally did it." Heather said hugging Sara.

"Yeah we did, didn't we?" she said smiling at her. Everyone else said their goodbyes and they left. Maureen, Joanne, Collins and Mimi went back to the hotel and Mark went home with Erika. She was going to the city with them to spend time with everyone. Mark and Erika had gotten really close over the last week since they arrived before Sara and Roger's wedding. Roger and Sara went home together for their first night as a married couple. As they made love that night, everything seemed different. They were truly going to be together forever. It was what both of them had wanted for so long.

"I love you Mrs. Davis." Roger whispered kissing Sara's head as she laid in his arms.

"I love you too Mr. Davis." Sara said smiling up at him as they began to fall asleep.


End file.
